


In Time

by Ticktocktheclock (tashatj)



Category: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, The Founder of Diabolism, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: A Lot Of Fainting, CONSORT WEI, Consorts and concubines, F/M, Imperial Family - Freeform, Imperial harem, M/M, Time Travel, What am I doing?, a bit of a crack here, chinese monarch, emperor and empress stuff, having a male consort is actually a must here, lol, prince and royalty stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-07-01 21:25:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15782421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tashatj/pseuds/Ticktocktheclock
Summary: Wei Wuxian was supposed to finish his latest chapter that day and submit his work to the publishing editor when suddenly he, for no good reason, passed out. He woke up only to find himself stranded in a place where it looks eerily similar to those grand palaces on TV dramas complete with it's polished furnitures and all.except he's not in some sort of historical tv show filming bcoz now he has natural long hair (he tried pulling it out of curiosity and it was not a wig), heavy clothing weighing him down with its numerous layers and not to mention everyone bowing down to him with every five steps he took.Who says time travelling is not real?





	1. Looks Like I'm Lost

The soft sun rays filtered into the room as flock of birds chirped gleefully and cheerfully outside the window but Wei Wuxian was really tempted to throw out his kitchen knife and murder the entire population of that damned species if they won't shut up this instance! He had just spent the entire week typing endlessly, forcing all the ideas out of his brain to finish his latest novel and get his shit done with because of the deadly deadline and stuff, losing his long needed beauty sleep and rest. Now that he had finally put an end to his second book, last step was to deliver it to his 'buddy' Chengcheng, that demonic editor who never fails to creep the hell out of him every time the deadline date comes around the corner, and hibernate for the next three months. 

 

That was the original plan.

Wuxian continued to roll on the bed tiredly, trying to use his hands to cover his ears from the annoying chirps and frustrating murmurs. His apartment was on the 25th floor anyways, how do birds even get up here? And since when was his comfortable queen bed get this... hard? His pillows and plushies fortress had turned somehow extremely uncomfortable and not huggable either. He remained stubborn enough to have his eyes shut in effort to go back to dreamland and sleep all his problems away.

 

Wait...  
Murmurs... 

He was sure to turn off the TV though, heck, he broke his TV just last month and the poor thing couldn't be fixed anymore so he couldn't enjoy such luxury of watching shows and dramas so how come there's another source of voice when he's living alone? Not that his family cared to drop by and check up on him, they didn't even know he moved to another apartment complex since three months ago. So... what explains the human voice that clearly doesn't belong to him?

 

 

Okay, maybe he really needs to wake up after all and check his house in case there's a life-threatening robber. Or call an exorcist for good measures. Either way he needs to make an action or he’ll have to face the consequences all by himself. Begrudgingly, he was left no choice but to wake up and end his sleep marathon but what he didn't expect that the first thing that greeted him as soon as he opened his heavy eyelids was... a pair of eyes?!

 

Emitting a high pitched unmanly scream, Wuxian was sure his inhumane dolphin-ranged voice had scared the entire building's residents. He quickly scrambled back in effort to put a considerable distance between him and the owner of those pair of eyes when his back had hit the wooden bed frame and knocked his head against something hard that he felt his skull throbbing harshly.  
He looked around in surprise because he sure as hell bought a bed with not even a headrest so if he had moved backwards this much he would have fallen over and hit the floor. How the hell did he even have a classical bed frame?!

 

"Oh! Young Master Wei has woken up!" the shrill voice of a young woman, barely even a teenager, pierced into Wuxian's sensitive ears.

 

Again, extremely confused, Wuxian whipped his head towards the source of voice and found a young girl kneeling right beside his unusual-looking bed and had dashed away in excitement, dragging her long skirt out of the even-weirder-looking door.

Woah woah woah woah…. Y-young master? Was she referring to me?

 

The only man in the room whipped his head around back and forth. The room was pretty simple, with most of the furniture made of old wood. To think about it, everything in the room looks pretty antique, exactly like those in historical dramas that Chengcheng often watches before his TV had given up on him. 

 

Before he could even think further about being stranded in a bizarre and unfamiliar room, a mob of people entered his room noisily that he had gone to the corner of the bed and pull the blanket up to his chin in effort to hide himself.

The crowd were looking ecstatic and worried at the same time as they made a beeline to enter the room. A beautiful lady walked in front and leads the rest and although it was obvious that she is a middle-aged woman, the beauty from her youth did not fade with time as she emits a very graceful and elegant aura as she moves.  
Her attire made her look like a goddess from an ancient time, with detailed embroidery of flowers, sleeves and dress long enough to reach the floor, she looked stunning.

 

“A Xian, how are you feeling?” Her voice even sounded gentle and smooth.

 

She took a seat at the side of the bed and reached out to touch Wuxian’s hand but he dumbly pulled away (stranger danger is Wei Wuxian’s life motto).

 

The lady looked surprised and slightly hurt by the action but smiled softly nonetheless. “A Xian… are you feeling unwell?”

 

The man looked around carefully as everybody had their sole attention on him. He backs away fearfully again and couldn’t stop feeling weirded out by the people’s strange sense of fashion and hairstyle that’s eerily identical to the imperial dynasty eras.

 

Well this can’t certainly happen to me, Wuxian thought to himself in denial. Time travelling is fucking unreal! This is a dream! That’s it, this whole thing is just a damn dream!

 

Suddenly Wuxian laughed aloud, thinking that he was stupid enough not to notice that all of this was simply a figment of his own imagination since he’s been working too hard these past few days. Everybody took a few cautious steps backwards, whispers soon enveloped the whole room.

He pinched his cheeks to confirm the suspicion only to yelp harshly. He slapped himself a few times and the result was the same, he was in pain.

 

“Wei Ying, stop hurting yourself!”

Wuxian looked at the lady’s knitted eyebrows and worried face, struggling to stop him from slapping himself again. She looks oddly familiar though.

But.. how did the lady know his name anyway? Not only she knew his name as ‘Xian’, she even knew his high school nickname.

 

“W… who are you?” Wuxian managed to utter unsurely. “How did I get in here? Where am I?”

 

There were gasps that soon followed by more murmurs from the people standing around the bed. The lady also looked surprised at the question.

“Quick! Get the royal physician!” The lady ordered hurriedly.

 

“Right away, Your Highness!” two young girls replied, slightly bowing to the lady as they shuffled out of the room in unison.

 

 

Again, she gazes into Wuxian’s tired eyes with utmost fondness. “It’s okay, A Xian, don’t be afraid. We will cure you.”

 

 

Wei Wuxian decided that maybe, just maybe, if he fall back to sleep again he’ll wake up back to his comfy bed, in his unruly apartment, getting lectured endlessly by his editor and return to the world he had always known and continue his life as a best-selling author. Yeah, that might work. But instead of getting sleep, he suddenly fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nothing is really going on here

 

 

The second time Wuxian opened his eyes, noticing that the same wooden bed frame greets his line of vision yet again, with all the same archaic table set decorating the room and detailed paintings hung on the wall, he closed his eyes back in disbelief. He took in one deep breath before finally acknowledging that, unfortunately, he’s more or less stuck in this weird world, wherever it is, whatever time period it was, and accepted his pitiful fate in disdain.

He had thought about the possibilities on how he could be stranded here. After much brainstorming, the last thing he remembered was falling ungracefully in his own apartment while grabbing the nearest thing to help him, something like a house decoration that looks like a necklace, only to bring an entire cabinet falling on his head as he fell and blacked out right after. Clearly he isn’t dead after the accident by how he’s still breathing and alive but… here he was, in a foreign land with no friends whatsoever thats shows no indication that he’s in the 21st century. He doesn’t really believe in reincarnation before so he wasn’t very sure about the world he’s currently in.

Wuxian pushed himself up and sat quietly on the relatively huge bed, staring at his lap for god knows how long, too lost in his own thoughts before he caught sight of a figure sitting on one of the chairs from the corner of his eyes.

He snapped his head towards the person almost immediately.

Sitting there quietly, with a tea cup in his hand, emitting a very intimidating yet pretentious aura, a man was staring intently on Wuxian. The man showed no sign of surprise as he sipped his tea without a care, eyes still fixated on the bed, exactly on Wei Wuxian.

His gaze were icy and distant, cold enough to make one feel that winter came quite early although the flowers blooming outside showed otherwise. His posture was upright, shoulders back and chin held up high in pride. His robes were exceptionally well-made, white and blue blended easily in stripes and patterns of cloud decorating his garment, indicating he’s of a different status from the others. But his face, oh goodness, his face is a total masterpiece! Wuxian is confident in his own looks, often boasting about his face wherever he goes but if he were to stand next to this beau and be compared with, he’ll totally feel inferior. If heart eyes existed, it would be on Wuxian’s eyes by now.

  
  


_ How come there’s no one like this in my life?! How come, in a world with 3 billion males living in it, there’s no one that looks like him?!  _

 

“How are you feeling?”

Wuxian was caught off guard for a second as the smooth and low voice cut through the almost awkward silence.

  
  
  


“I’m good… yeah… I’m pretty good. But to be honest, maybe not so well since I don’t know where I am or what I’m doing here but other than that, I’m completely fine and healthy! How are you doing?” Being his rather no-brain-to-mouth-filtered self, Wuxian also added a playful grin at the end of his sentence. 

  
  


The ‘hottie’, Wuxian named the other male for now, showed indifference on his facial expression, keeping a neutral mien as he sipped his tea again. But since the question was left lingering in the air unreplied, it gets even more awkward as they both stare at each other without a word.

  
  
  
  


“You don’t remember me?” The man asked again.

  
  
  
  


This time, Wuxian cracked a cheeky smile. “I would certainly remember a handsome face when I see one, especially one like yours. If I don’t have any memory of it, it means we never met somehow.”

  
  
  
  


For extra measures, Wuxian even winked with a flirtatious grin. 

There’s a slight moment when the ‘hottie’ looked especially surprised but quickly regained his composure at Wuxian’s blunt flirting effort. The man sipped his tea again. “You really lost your memories, huh? Hopefully you hadn’t lost your mind too.”

  
  
  
  


Wuxian pouted and frowned. “So does that mean I know you? Like, on personal level? Are we schoolmates? Ex-schoolmates? Neighbors? Friends? Enemies? Wait, don’t tell me… are we lovers?!”

  
  
  
  


Excitement rushed into Wuxian’s bloodstream and his happiness can be detected in his voice but the other male’s reaction was too somber for someone who is meeting their loved one. Wuxian’s smile falters and disappointment came rushing back and slapped him right on the cheek. 

  
  


_ Even in this world, I couldn’t get a boyfriend. Great. _

  
  
  


“So what are we then?” More bricks of painful realization just hits him head on after a moment of silently thinking. “Oh my gosh, are we brothers?!” . 

Who knew that the definition of male perfection in front of him, with physique and face so flawless that it would make him cry, is his own family, his sibling?! Wei Wuxian has never felt so discouraged in his whole life. He hadn’t even tried anything with his ‘hottie’ yet and now to say that they’re related by blood? The universe must be playing with him. 

  
  
  
  


The male sighed exasperatedly as he stood up, having enough with the total nonsense spewing out of Wuxian’s mouth. He tidied the wrinkles on his clothes swiftly and approached the bed.

 

“You need to visit Imperial Consort Wen after you recover, she’s very worried about you losing your memories. Although you have no recollection of the past, Consort Wen had cared for you deeply ever since you were small so please don’t try to cause her sadness and more burden. That’s my only request to you.”

  
  
  


After saying that, the man left, long black hair and long robe swaying as he moved out of the door.  

  
  


Dumbfounded, Wei Wuxian could only hang his jaw wide open. Did that Adonis just ignored his A-class flirting? And he didn’t even show any other expression other than surprise and that’s it! Wuxian crossed his arms and harrumphed like a spoiled brat. No one had rejected him with such manner before, he’s Wei Wuxian for goodness sake, the god of subtle flirting and master of push-and-pull who can attract anyone with his looks alone! Maybe there’s a screw loose somewhere in that hottie’s head. Or maybe he had just lost his touch and his skills are getting rusty. Probably that.

But to think about it, if the hottie was truly his brother in this kind of setting, wouldn’t it be awkward for him to flirt? Wuxian shrugs with dread and pouted. 

  
  


“Who’s consort Wen anyway? The lady who visited me before? Most probably. Could that lady be hottie’s mom or something?” He mumbled to himself.

  
  
  


With a long sigh, he moved out of the bed and stretched his limbs and muscles. He yawned loudly while making way towards a perfectly crafted table, looking around his so-called room with much curiosity. There’s a relatively large bronze mirror in a rectangular shape, standing on top of the dressing table high enough to reflect a person’s head-to-toe image.

  
  
  


Wuxian gaped when he saw his reflection.

  
  
  


“My heavens….”    
His hands immediately shot upwards to his head and long black hair that reached as far as his waist. His face remains the same, even sporting the same scar under his jaw but his hair… that’s another surprise. Still speechless at his sudden change in appearance, he poked his long hair once again, pulling a handful of them just to make sure and deemed that those were 100% real and not just a mere wig since he felt his scalp crying in pain after tugging the roots to ensure it’s not fake. 

  
  


His gaze also went down to his body. Well, he’s in for another surprise.  

  
  


“Woah, damn!” His hands are now all over his abdomen, just touching and patting his body.

  
  


Beneath the all-white clothes that he’s currently wearing right now, a sturdy figure was quite visible. The semi-solid shoulders and chest, the not-so-perfect-but-there abs and nice arms? This is the body that he could only be dreaming of! He had always hated being overly bulky and muscular, besides it’s too much work to maintain those anyway. As someone whose job doesn’t require much physical effort and considering how he detested going to the gym and getting sweaty, the probability of having this dream body was 0.00071%. Wuxian grinned from ear to ear and squeezed his cheeks again. A freaking miracle!

  
  
  


Before he was given more time to admire his own physique, a series of knocks was heard.

  
  


On reflex, Wuxian turned around to face the door. By the entrance to his room, stood a beautiful young lady in a light purple dress. Her face is delicate and her tiny smile was as pure as the first snow. Her eyes are clearer than water and for some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity to this lady. By just one glance, she looked simply ethereal with her petite figure. Maybe she isn’t what most men would consider as good-looking or as an enticing  beauty but for him, she looks very decent.

 

Looking at the numerous men and women tailing behind her, she must be someone from a high rank. Also, she’s emitting such a regal aura similar to ‘hottie’ and the Wen lady (or something) that not anyone can carry so easily. Wuxian doesn’t remember or recognize who this person is but his body does. In an instant, he brought two of his outstretched hands together in front of his body and bowed slightly. 

  
  
  


“Consort Wei, no need the formality. We are family after all and you had only recovered yesterday, please refrain from exerting too much energy,” the woman says softly and as calm as she could although she looked a little bewildered. To be honest, Wuxian was also freaked out at his own actions because he certainly didn’t order his hands to do that! His brain might have short circuited, he tried entertaining himself with an explanation.

  
  
  


The young lady walked deeper into the room and approached Wuxian with a few of her maids following closely. 

  
  


“Place the gifts on the floor.” The woman instructed carefully. Boxes over boxes, all wrapped in beautiful clothes of different patterns were placed on the ground near the round table. The maids made sure to place them gently but swiftly moved as well, never once making any eye contact with the Wuxian.

“All of you are dismissed, I need to speak with Consort Wei alone,” she spoke again to her attendants with a soft tone. They all chorused an obedient ‘yes’ before retreating out from the room with head hung low. 

  
  
  


Now that both are alone, the awkwardness was inevitable. She might give off a comforting and warm air around her but she was still a total stranger after all and as Wei Wuxian always say, beware of stranger danger.

  
  


“Uhm… please have a seat?” Wuxian offered the chairs although unsure if his words sounded polite or not. She smiled without complaints, looking a bit caught off guard and sat on one of the chairs.

  
  


“My name is Jiang Yanli,” the lady said whilst inspecting Wuxian’s expression. “And I’m the crown prince’s main wife. You would usually call me Consort Jiang but you’d usually run away first and try to avoid me so I rarely hear your voice. But again, you might not remember anything at all.”

  
  


_ Of course I don’t remember, I’m not from here! _

  
  


Wuxian hurriedly sat at a nearby empty chair to avoid looking suspicious since he’s indeed inside his own bedroom. The least he could do was look comfortable enough. “Uh, my name is Wei Wuxian, nice to meet you, I guess. Sorry, I’m really not used to this...”

  
  


She then continued her explanation with a chuckle. “It’s alright, you just woke up anyway. The royal physician had said that you cannot regain your memory back so as a result, you’d have to learn everything again from the start. I’m glad that at least you had regained consciousness after that horrible accident and thankfully you still remember your name. Maybe this was all for the best.”

  
  
  


Her expression changed slightly, smile faltering a millisecond and eyes downcasted for a mere moment before realizing that she had zoned out but Wuxian had caught the change with his keen eyes.

 

“Are you alright?” Wuxian asked timidly, scared that he might have offended the other. “Should I brew tea or water or anything?”

  
  
  


“I’m fine, just a little nostalgic…” The young lady, Yanli, answered. 

 

He nods without a word and took it his cue to zip his overly chatty mouth. A sad woman needs her time, especially when she’s sensitive. As another long silence envelopes the room, Wuxian gets a little anxious. 

 

  
  


Suddenly Yanli chuckled. “You’ve become more comfortable around me. In the past, you couldn’t utter a single word when it’s just the two of us. You’ll leave whenever you see me around. I’m glad you don’t think so badly of me now.” 

  
  


“Me? I did that?!” Wuxian couldn’t stop himself from exclaiming out loud. “Was I a complete jerk?”

  
  
  


Yanli laughed heartily and quickly hid her growing smile behind her long sleeves. The crescent of her eyes show nothing but mirth as she continued to giggle for god knows what reason.

“You’re too cute, A Xian. You weren’t a jerk at all, in fact you’re just a shy and very timid child.  Ever since Imperial consort Wen took you into the palace, you’d stay cooped up in your room or practice your skills on the training grounds. You do avoid people but that’s because you’re scared of everyone hurting you. But now, you’ve changed into a completely new person!” 

  
  


Completely weirded out, Wuxian could only nod a few times to look as if he understood, gracing a sheepish smile on his face. Wei Wuxian, or at least the 21st century version of him, had always been the more outgoing and obstreperous kid that every parents and teachers would definitely avoid. He was such a troublemaker that his family had long given up on giving lectures and scolding him. He couldn’t relate to this version of ‘Wei Wuxian’ at all.

  
  


“Hm, if that’s the case, can you help me remember some stuff?” Wuxian asked seriously with eyebrows furrowed. If he’s gonna live here, he must be prepared for any type of trouble that could go his way. Besides, every game needs to have background stories and character profiles and right now, he’s partially living in a game (or so he thought).

  
  
  


With a kind and motherly smile, Yanli nods. “Of course, where should we start?”

  
  
  
  


“How old am I?”

  
  


“You’ll be 20 this winter. That means you’ll be married by next year.”

  
  
  
  


_ Good point is, I’m five years younger here. The bad news is…  _

  
  
  
  


Wuxian choked on his saliva after he finished grasping the words. “I- I’m getting m-married?! Really?!  But.. with whom?!”

  
  
  


 Yanli looked unfazed. “Yes, you will be getting married next spring. You made the promise with the crown prince when you were younger, to marry after you turned 20.”

  
  
  


_ Oh, the crown prince… wait… the crown prince? _

 

“Hold up! Isn’t the crown prince  **your** husband?! Wait, rewind. Is that why you and everybody else kept referring me as a consort Wei?”

  
  


This time Yanli chuckled at the weird faces he’s making. “Yes, he is my husband. And also yes, everyone in the palace had been calling you that because your engagement had been done when you were twelve. That’s far way back compared to me. But that aside, you would be marrying into the royal family anyway so I guess it became everyone’s habit to refer you as a consort at such a young age although the official wedding hasn’t been done yet.”

  
  


To be honest, that’s a little too much to take in for Wuxian’s clogged brain to handle. The urge to faint and just sleep everything away was so huge but he remained awake for the sake of knowing more about his life here (wherever ‘here’ is).

  
  


Wuxian held a hand up in front of his face. “So let me get this straight. Consort Wen took me in as a child and I was engaged to the crown prince of this kingdom at the age of twelve. Then I kept living in the palace to wait for my wedding and, uhm you came into the picture. Then you married the crown prince as his main wife and I… will be his consort? And suddenly I lost my memories? Is that it?”

  
  


With a surprised but ecstatic look, Yanli clapped her hands in excitement. “You’re doing well, A Xian! I didn’t know you’d quickly catch up unto things.”

  
  
  


Wuxian let out a sarcastic laugh but Yanli doesn’t seem to realize the rather cynical tone coming from him.

  
  
  


“How old are you?” Wuxian suddenly asked, now resting his chin on top of his hand which was already propped up on the round table. He looked awfully curious, tired and done with all the shits going on.

  
  
  


“I just turned 24 last month,” Yanli cheerily replied.

  
  
  
  
  


“You are older than me!” Wuxian, again, shouted in surprise because he was sure that Yanli was at most nineteen by looking at her youthful and refreshing looks. Why is everything a plot twist here?! “I’m so so so so so sorry for having no manners at all and kept on calling you without any honorifics so from today onwards, I will call you A-Li  _ jie jie!  _ Is that okay?”

  
  
  
  


Yanli smiled good naturedly as she reached out to hold one of Wuxian’s hand. “Of course you can, we’re gonna be a family soon! Honorifics aren’t needed between family members. You never called me  _ jie _ before so it actually felt nice.”

  
  
  


“Uh, before that, we have one big problem. Who’s the crown prince?”

  
  
  
  


“You didn’t see him? But I clearly saw his majesty leaving your room while I was on my way here.”

  
  
  


Wuxian let out an unmanly shriek as he stood up abruptly, making his chair fall backwards. “So hottie is going to be my husband?!”

  
  
  


“A Xian, I don’t understand.”

  
  


Oh, right. They don’t know slangs here.Wuxian cleared his throat and put both of his hands behind his back. “So you were saying, the tall man with extremely cold eyes, sharp jaws, beautiful lips and nose, scrutinizing gaze, cool blue and white boots, long shiny black hair, and great body posture who came out of my room, is the crown prince?”

 

Yanli nods, the colorful accessories on her hair dangling along her movement. She looks baffled, feeling that the whole thing happening is odd and peculiar for three reasons. One, nobody had dared to describe the crown prince like that. Two, Wuxian was the one who even dared to use such description on the crown prince. Three, Wuxian hadn’t talked this much ever since he entered the palace so it’s a weird view to see him so worked out like this

  
  
  
  


_ Thank you, the universe! Thank you everyone! Thank you for not making this life less lonely especially with a hottie as my soon to be hubby! What a miracle! I almost thought we’d be brothers or something… but one thing is definitely weird…. _

  
  


“A-Li  _ jie jie _ , does that mean … like… we’re sharing him?”

  
  


Thank goodness Yanli was blessed with a limitless patience because handling Wei Wuxian and his questions can sometimes be a bit troublesome, ask his editor. She gave a slow nod in response.

 

Wuxian pouted as he picked up his stool and took a seat. “Don’t you feel sad? You’re going to be sharing your husband with someone else… don’t you hate me?”

  
  


This time, Yanli chuckled and patted the younger’s head. “A Xian, in the palace, sharing affection and love is normal. Why should I be upset for such trivial matter?”

  
  


“You like someone else, don’t you?”

  
  


At first, Yanli’ was frozen in her seat but then she began to blush and hang her head down low to avoid Wuxian’s prying eyes.

  
  
  


“Oh, you do like someone else! Tell me, tell me, tell me more!”

  
  
  


Yanli placed a finger in front of her lips. “Keep it down, it’s not good if anyone heard of this. I’ll be a laughing stock!”

  
  


“It’s alright, I’ll bring your secret to my grave. No one would know about this except you and me. You have my words,” Wuxian grinned like a child and Yanli could only shake her head with a growing smile.

  
  


“But aside from us, one person also knew.” The lady said in a hushed voice.

 

“Who? Consort Wen?”

  
  
  


“No, it’s the crown prince.”

  
  
  
  


Wuxian gaped, speechless. “Your own husband know about this?”

  
  
  
  


Sheepishly, Yanli nodded.

Oh goodness, isn’t there anything remotely normal in this place? Sure, sharing your lover with dozens of other people can be considered standard in the past especially in monarchies. But to let your husband know that you’re basically cheating on him, well, not physically but still cheating on his feelings... isn’t that a bit over the top? 

  
  
  


“We made it clear that we do not love each other romantically. Our relationship is arranged just like every other couple in the palace. Women are rarely given the chance to choose whoever she wants to marry and it’s normal to be in a loveless marriage, so his highness understood my feelings.” she explained. 

  
  
  


That’s complicated. 

_ So hottie knew about it and said nothing? He’s actually a lot nicer than how he looks.  _

  
  
  


“We still have lot of things to talk about, A Xian. Would you like to have dinner with me later?”

  
  
  
  


When Yanli is smiling like this, who is Wuxian to reject? She’s nice enough to bring him gifts and medicines, even went as far as explaining a lot of stuff that he didn’t understand. So he agreed readily.

 

Both of them turned their heads towards the door when they heard a knock. A young maid had came over carrying a bowl and placed it on the table.

 

“It’s time to take your medications, my lady.” she spoke softly while bowing slightly.

  
  
  


“Thank you, you may wait for me outside. Ask the others to return first and prepare dinner since consort Wei will be our guest.”

  
  


The girl bowed yet again and did as she was told to.

  
  


“ _ Jie,  _ are you sick?”

  
  
  


“Ah, not exactly. But since my body is weak, I need to drink medicines to prevent miscarriage.”

  
  
  
  


Again, Wuxian choked on his own saliva. “Are you pregnant?”

  
  
  


Before he could get a decent reply, his head began to spin. His brain seemed to be hit by hammers non stop and the dull ache seems to be worsening by the minute. He could see Yanli panicking and opening her mouth to say something but he couldn’t really hear any of her voice. His balance was failing and the last thing he saw before completely falling backwards and closing his eyes was a familiar figure in white and blue robe entering his room. And again, for the nth time, he fainted. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after what felt like forever, i'm actually back with a new chapter! I'm very thankful to everyone who had given encouragements through the comments and kudos! hope this chapter is good enough lol sorry for any mistakes though hope you had a nice day!


	3. Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wei Wuxian is bored out of his wits and also tired of people following him.
> 
> Thankfully he has hottie and a very curious mind. Oh, there's someone he finally know too!

 

 

“Greetings to Consort Wei.”

  
  


Annoyance level : 0%

“Hi to you guys too!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Good afternoon Consort Wei, have a pleasant day.”

 

Annoyance level : 5%

“Hey there!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Consort Wei, we will guide you through the palace.”

 

Annoyance level : 25%

“Uh… I'll be fine on my own but where did you guys come from? Were you following me?”

  
  
  
  
  


“Are you feeling alright, Consort Wei?”

 

Annoyance level : 53%

“It's the six hundredth time anyone had asked today and my reply is the same, I'm fine!”

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Consort Wei, I believe it is better if you’d let the maids follow you in case you pass out again. We can hold your hand as you walk. Maybe use a palanquin?”

 

Annoyance level : 81% (Danger)

“No thanks I can manage on my own. I'm  not crippled for goodness sake! And stop following me, you jobless lads!! Leave me alone!!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“We didn’t mean to block your way, Consort! We are very sorry, we deserve to die!”

  
  
  
  
  


Wei Wuxian’s left eye twitched in 99% annoyance and ears buzzing unpleasantly as he witnessed four young maidens kneeling on the ground while bowing and knocking their heads against the marble tiles continuously. They were begging for their life, the youngest of them even started bawling her eyes out. 

 

_ Why are they apologizing anyway? We just crossed path! They didn’t even bump to me, what the hell?! _

  
  
  


“Please stand up,” Wuxian said in exasperation, closing his eyes desperately. He could feel a headache coming up soon by all these weird people and their weird customs of apologizing for breathing the same air as him. If the people in the palace won’t stop acting like he’s an iron-fisted tyrant who is gonna hang a person for the sake of entertainment or something, he might as well jump off a cliff. 

  
  
  


“We were careless, young master! It is truly our fault!” 

  
  


You see, they are young girls. And what do they do when a bunch of them meet? Of course they talk like every normal teenage girls would. And more often than not, the topic of discussion gets pretty heated that they often forget where they are and didn't pay enough attention to their surroundings. Unfortunately for these maids, they met the crown prince's soon-to-be consort on their way to work and practically showed a royalty that they were slacking in the middle of the job and seemingly obstructed the huge hallway. And punishment for being negligent? Death. Or life sentence in prison. Both are not good.

  
  


“You did nothing wrong, please don't attract unwanted attention!” Wei Wuxian hissed as he looked left and right to see if there were any spectators. “Just get up first, no one's gonna get punished!”

  
  
  


The girls looked baffled and quickened their kowtowing. “Thank you so much, consort Wei! We will forever be grateful to you! We’ll dedicate our whole lives for you and the crown prince.”

  
  
  


With a sigh, Wuxian helped one of the girls to stand up and they began crying real tears while saying that they didn’t deserve to be touched by a royal and ‘Young master is too generous to us, servants!’. He’s only doing this as a normal human being who respect others and not some kind-hearted philanthropist whose giving out money to the poor. He wasn’t that nice in the first place. But the maids had started acting like he saved their lives from a terrible catastrophe and proclaimed him as a hero of some sort.

  
  


Wuxian waved his hand in dismissal and the servants quickly skittered away as if their feet were on fire. Again, for the 319th time that day, Wei Wuxian sighed.

  
  
  
  
  
  


It had been 3 days since he had woken up from his second fainting incident and life has gone pretty much normally (if you count having a whole pavillion and a dozen servants plus guards to yourself as normal, then it had been a smooth few days of peace).

 

Jiang Yanli, who had waited patiently by his side, was very ecstatic when Wuxian finally opened his eyes. She began to cry as if it was her fault that he had fainted and wow, Wuxian has zero experience on how to calm a pregnant crying lady down. The personal attendants of the emperor and empress had sent over rare tonics and expensive medicines just because of this weird incident. Even a few unfamiliar faces who claimed to be ministers of the kingdom had dropped by and paid a visit. The whole palace was fretting over his health but the crown prince himself never showed his face in that 3 days, never stepping a foot inside his room. Of course this was saddening since Wuxian could really get some help in the means of an eye candy and he really thought he saw hottie right before he passed out but oh well, fate has other plans.

  
  
  
  


And after having been locked inside his bedroom for three full days as per doctor's instructions for total recovery, Wei Wuxian was finally a free man! He spent the whole morning roaming around his own pavillion like a lost duckling, yes it was pretty big hence he got lost, and planned to have the afternoon spent visiting Imperial Consort Wen after managing to exit the maze-like residence.

  
  


That plan seemed pretty simple in his head. He hadn't spared the thought of how difficult it was to walk long distances with the stupidly heavy and long clothings and how every 5 steps he took, people would be bowing and lowering their heads as respect, even went as far as treating him like a deity to the point that it became more of a nuisance and irritance with their neverending greetings. Although their intentions were nice but that didn't mean he would be okay with people stopping him every second just to ask how he's doing whilst jumping out of the bushes. He has anger issues, don't test him.

  
  


It was pretty tiring and confusing for a man who came from modern civilization to enter a whole new world filled with formalities and being followed by servants like a mother hen leading her chicks. Wuxian felt like crying somehow. 

  
  
  


After getting lost again in the complicated and elaborate labyrinth that he calls the palace, Wei Wuxian finally arrived in front of the Sunflower Pavilion, Imperial Consort Wen's own living quarters. The few servants by the gate had led him into a grand hall filled with beautiful chandeliers and beautiful porcelain vases lining the walls. The hall was so grand that he could not stop from dropping his jaw in awe.

  
  


_ My next book is surely gonna be a historical fiction. Just look at all this fine references!  _

 

He looked around again and gasped at a particular painting he found extremely familiar hung on the wall. It was a simple painting on a scroll, an almost abstract picture of a tiny house on top of the high mountains painted with delicate colors, but that particular drawing was sold in present time at the latest national auction that could cost an entire apartment complex including six buildings and a huge ass swimming pool.

  
  


“A Xian!” 

  
  


Hearing his name called, Wei Wuxian whipped his head hurriedly and saw the lady who visited him the first time he woke up in this foreign place, pacing quickly as she entered from another door whilst dragging her long dress behind her. Still looking pretty cool for a middle-aged lady, he mentally noted. Wuxian waved his hand like how he would to his friend, flashing a wide grin while he’s at it and a few of the guards looked as if he had grown two heads. A nearby eunuch had hissed in anxiety for no good reason, especially in his direction.

  
  


Oh yes, customs… How could he forget?

  
  


Wei Wuxian lowered himself on the floor, kneeling on both legs, and bowed lowly with a hand gesture he often sees on the last historical drama he watched. Is his position even correct? Are his hands at the right angle? Everything feels weird.

 

“Greetings to…” Wuxian trailed off, not knowing how to address the lady. He took a peek from beneath his long sleeves at the eunuch who stood at the end of the room and the man mouthed a ‘your highness’. Quickly, Wuxian followed suit. “... your highness!”

  
  


He felt a hand grabbed his arm to help him up. 

  
  
  


“Wei Ying, are you feeling alright? Any headache? Back pain? Just tell me anything you want, I’ll have someone bring it to you.”

  
  


That again. The nickname. Back in highschool everyone called him that since he’s such a kid at times and decided to call him Wei Ying. But, it seems that the lady likes to call him as Wei Ying and A-Xian rather than his full real name. Do people have two names here?

  
  


“I’m in perfect condition, your highness. I can walk and think just fine. Nothing is wrong with my head.” He answered with a small smile.

  
  


The lady looked worried beyond compare as she dragged him to the nearest seat which happened to be a majestic set of wooden chairs, carved with such detail that Wuxian couldn’t stop calculating the price it would cost to buy one. Maybe he could afford one if he sold off a kidney? Maybe a lung? He snapped out of his thought when she made him sit there and immediately servants came with a pot of brewed tea ready to be served.

  
  


  
“Wei Ying, do you… know who I am?”

  
  


“If I’m not wrong, you are Imperial Consort Wen. A-Li  _ jie jie  _ told me so.”

  
  


“A-lie  _ jie jie? _ Are you talking about Jiang Yanli?” She widened her eyes. “Since when were you acquainted to her?”

  
  


Wuxian shrugged. “She visited me the other day before I fainted and told me a lot of things about my past. She’s still helping me learn to recognize all the members of royal family and noble relations so I apologize if I made a mistake. Also, she’s a nice person. I really like her. I mean, not in the context that I like her as a woman since she’s indeed a married lady and not to mention she’s pregnant and also the crown prince’s wife at that but I like her as in a good elder sister that cares deeply for me, you know what I mean? Like, she’s a good company and stuff.”

  
  


The eunuchs, servants, guards and even the Imperial Consort herself had stared at him oddly. Oh great, did he say something wrong? Something inappropriate perhaps? Wuxian bit his lower lip and winced slightly. “Did… I say- no I mean, Uh…. Sorry?”

  
  


Out of nowhere, Consort Wen had leaned forward and enveloped him in a hug. Everyone was shocked, Wei Wuxian included, as they had never seen her highness be this affectionate even to her own sons. 

  
  


“No no no, A-Xian. I’m just so, very happy! I’m glad that you’re finally speaking to me again.”

  
  


This situation is getting rather odd somehow. Wuxian began to think like how he always did during a plot brainstorming for his stories, the gears in his head finally working after a while. To sum it all up, he had talked to three people who certainly cared for this ‘Wei Ying’ and knew him on a personal level, and all three of them seemed to be surprised that he’s finally talking in full sentences or even tried to strike up a topic of conversation. That means him and the other version of Wei Wuxian are polar opposites in terms of personalities since one loved to run his mouth while the other seemed to hide himself in solitude. Does this mean that the original Wei Wuxian had difficulties with speech? Or did he encountered a trauma that forced him to stop conversing with people? 

  
  
  


Since the whole palace knew he’s lost his memories, it gets easier to act out of character.

 

“I’m sorry if I had worried you so far,” Wuxian spoke innocently. “The crown prince said that I should visit you as soon as I got better.”

  
  
  


The lady finally pulled apart from the hug and carefully caressed Wuxian’s cheek with a raised brow. “Wangji? He said that?”

  
  
  


Wuxian mentally cheered.  _ So his name is Wangji? Alright, not a bad name for hottie! _

  
  
  


He nodded and played off as the lovable son as he beamed brightly to show off his skills of ‘bewitching’ middle aged ladies with his adorable smile. “I know I’m in no position to ask for a favor, but… is it true that I’m betrothed to the crown prince? I just wanna make sure this isn’t just a dream.”

  
  
  


Consort Wen did a double take at first, not believing her eyes and ears. She then laughed heartily and held unto Wuxian’s two hands.

“Wei Ying, you are really going to marry my son!”

  
  


Okay, information confirmed. Hottie a.k.a Wangji is indeed Imperial Consort Wen’s biological son. This woman right here is going to be his mother-in-law and seemingly adores his entire being more than she loves her son. Pretty advantageous. 

 

“That’s… great!” Wuxian casted his eyes downwards and pulled off the total shy-blushing look that immediately made the lady coo. He’s part of the drama club for five years straight, just name any character and he’ll master it in seconds. He’s Wei Wuxian after all!

  
  


“I believe that the crown prince doesn’t really like being around me,” he said again with a kicked puppy face. 

  
  


“No no! If he doesn’t like to be near you, I’ll have his ears chopped off!” Consort Wen declared hotly, preferring to side with his son-in-law than his own son. What a peculiar lady. “He’s just shy and cold like usual, even if he’s happy he’ll look like someone has died.”

  
  


Wuxian smirked to himself. “Then, I should try to get to know him again. I have no memories of us being together so I think it will be better if we spend more time, just the two of us.”

  
  
  


“Great idea! That stubborn son of mine, he’s always at the Garden of Peace, secluding himself the whole afternoon to play zither for who knows where and how long! Why don’t you try to find him there? He’s usually hard to find though…” 

  
  
  


“Thank you, your highness. I shall look for him after lunch.” he said whilst thinking of a plan to approach hottie.

  
  
  


“Good, that’s good.”

  
  
  
  


Seeing that the middle-aged lady looked at ease, now Wuxian striked the iron while it’s hot. “It’s too bad that I lost my memories, maybe if I hadn’t forgotten, the crown prince and I wouldn’t be in an awkward position. How did I lose my memory again?”

  
  
  


The hall suddenly became tense, Consort Wen went silent and the servants looked rigid as they stood by the sides quietly. Wuxian noted their reactions carefully, taking in account that everybody looked solemn and some even seemed antsy.

  
  


“You fell and hit your head, an incident that we should avoid from ever happening again so please watch your step.”  

  
  


Such a prevalent answer, too abstract. She didn't even try to elaborate how he fell or when it happened. Even Jiang Yanli had replied with a similar answer of falling over and knocking his head against something hard. That's it. No other explanation. They're indeed hiding something.

  
  
  


Wuxian decided to end his miniscule investigation as he grinned again.”It's alright then! As long as I'm healthy now, nothing else matters. I'll try to be more careful in the future so you won't worry anymore, your highness!”

 

Consort Wen looked happy and relieved to say the least as she patted Wuxian’s head like a child. “You’ve grown up so well, A-Xian. If it isn’t too much for you, could you call me ‘mother’? I would like to hear it just once if you don’t mind.”

  
  
  


One look at her expression and Wuxian noticed that the two ladies he had conversed with seemed to be sad about something. Could it be about his accident?

“I’ll call you ‘mother’ every single time we meet so don’t be sad anymore, alright?” Wuxian replied cheerily. “Mother, I’ll visit you frequently so that both of us wouldn’t be lonely. We should ask A-Li  _ jiejie  _ to join us too! Wouldn’t that be great?”

  
  
  


Wei Wuxian was once again attacked with a suffocating hug as the lady shed some tears of joy or guilt, he didn’t know.

  
  
  
  
  
  


____

  
  
  
  
  


It was spring, the season of love.

 

The birds were resting on a nearby branch of a cherry blossom tree in bloom, singing and chirping gleefully as pale pink petals of the flower swayed playfully as the wind blew. The sky was perfectly blue and the clouds were puffy white, decorating the horizon just right. And the weather was even great to be honest, soft breeze playing with his long black hair.

  
  


But Wei Wuxian glowered angrily at everything in his sight, feeling all the pent up frustration and annoyance coming back in full blow. He glared at the guards standing by, the annoyingly loud birds, the overly shiny sun, the too-puffy clouds, even the innocent pots of plants along the corridor. Everything just irked him to no end.

  
  


Reason 1 to why this place sucks : no wifi, obviously. 

 

Reason 2: the food is too bland, like, do they even know the correct usage of spices and chilli?

 

Reason 3 : pests (those nosy people trying to control his every movement won't freaking disappear)

 

Reason 4 : getting involved in a periodic historical family drama in the palace, hopefully not the type of concubines bitch fight for the throne and power.

 

Reason 5 : EVERYTHING SUCKS

 

He wants to go home where all the junk foods and sodas are, where technologies of smartphones and laptops ruled and where his lovely air conditioner at. He just wanted to go back to his rather peaceful undisturbed life as the semi-popular author he is and enjoy the solitude of his apartment with Jiang Cheng’s constant nagging going in the background as he typed on his laptop without a care. He missed his comfortable cotton boxers and cute bunny house slippers. 

Although he has a huge possibility of finally having a hot future husband here, he still  **needs** to go home. He doesn't belong here.

  
  
  
  


Wuxian stomped away from the Sunflower Pavilion which belonged to consort Wen, or he might as well name her as Wen Qing for a while after getting a name from the servants, and couldn't stop feeling out of place. As he trudged towards the path back to his own residence with head hung low (yes, he marked the walls and ground with X symbols to show the way), he didn't bother to see where he was going or consider the huge possibility of head-butting a nearby tree.

 

Of course sooner or later, he would bump into something since his eyes were always focused on the ground and his weird-but-still-cool boots and so he eventually did.

 

The collision was not catastrophic or anything, just a slight bump of his head against something not particularly hard but not that soft or flabby either. Wuxian let out a grunt and was ready to cuss sharply like he usually did when his toe hit the sharp edge of a furniture before realizing that a pair of hands had steadied his wobbly stance after the crash.

  
  


As if on full alert that he had rather hit a ‘someone’ than a ‘something’, Wuxian took three steps back in defense and quickly gained his senses.

  
  


Right before his very eyes was a tall dashing male, long black hair that reached his waist was shining against the sun rays, bright eyes carefully staring at him with worry, and perfect physique adorned with a familiar looking white-and-blue robe. He was beautiful and oozing with dignity at the same time, simply ethereal if you ask anyone's opinion and for a second, the only thing that crossed Wuxian's mind was a simple word : hottie. But something was off...

  
  
  


“You're not him.” Wei Wuxian commented bluntly.

  
  
  
  


Yes, their nose and lips may look the same. Damn, the height and weight were extremely similar, even the length of their hair was identical! But… he's certainly not hottie.

 

Okay, Wuxian's gotta be honest here. 

 

Yes, this guy is handsome. Yes, he also looked perfect in every way that makes Wuxian slightly drool as he inspected the male from head to toe. Yes, he's super cool. Anyone could think that this guy and hottie were the same person. But there's one thing different.

  
  
  


The eyes.

  
  
  


The crown prince has this icy stare that could freeze anyone on the spot, scaring people midway without meaning to while this guy right here has a pair of eyes that gives off warm relaxing vibe, ensuring people how friendly he is by just a single look. 

  
  
  


Wuxian cleared his throat after his quick analysis. 

“Why do you look like the love of my life? Are you his twin? Or probably… an imposter?!” 

  
  
  
  


The man in question quickly denied the accusation with a firm shake of his head whilst chuckling away in amusement.

 

“Sorry about that, I should have introduced myself properly first and apologize but I wanted to see how you'd react. I even tried to imitate his posture and facial expressions. Everyone says Wangji and I look the same but even without a proper memory, you could still differentiate us.”

  
  
  


“Yeah, of course I would know. I mean, you look cool and all but you're not my hubby.”

  
  
  


There's another look of surprise and amazement that passed the male's eyes as Wuxian crossed his arms with a slight frown. 

  
  


The man finally laughed out loud after trying to hold back his snickers and finally became an entirely different person from before.

 

“You sure changed a lot.” The male said, patting Wuxian on his shoulder. “My brother would be thrilled if he knew about this.”

  
  
  


_ They look really alike. Blue and white robes. 'My Brother’. The dots are all connected... _

_ Fuck, he's my brother in law! _

  
  
  


Wei Wuxian nearly had a mini heart attack as his head spinned in both shock and embarrassment. Not only did he refer the crown prince as ‘the love of his life’, he had also mentioned Wangji being his ‘hubby’ in front of the brother of his crush. Gosh, it's the perfect time for the ground to open up and eat him alive before his dignity and self esteem crumble into nothing but ashes and cinder.

  
  
  


Closing his eyes to avoid making himself look even more like a loser, Wuxian clenched his fist. “I truly, deeply, apologize for making such a scene… and uh- sorry for spewing nonsense in front of a prince and.. goodness me this is embarrassing please forget everything you heard just now and pretend that I've  never said anything stupid? Please?”

  
  
  
  


The other male tilted his head slightly to the right with a small smile, one like a proud mother, and patted Wuxian's head like an obedient puppy who deserves cookies. What is it with people in the palace always giving him a pat on the head? Wuxian cracked an eye open as he saw Wangji's brother giving him a warm grin.

  
  
  


“I haven't even introduced myself and you already knew who I am. Are you sure you lost your memories?”

  
  


“I would have recognized you sooner if I hadn't.” Wuxian huffed, before realizing again who he is talking to. 

  
  
  


The man laughed again. “It's alright. Seeing you this carefree and cheerful is already a joy for me and everybody in the palace. And yes, you're right, my apologies. I am Lan Xichen, the elder brother of Lan Wangji and soon being the elder brother in law of Wei Wuxian.” 

  
  


At his cheeky smile, Wuxian could only sigh defeatedly and felt the tips of his ears getting warm. “I guess you already know me and my name so I won't bother with an introduction then.”

  
  


Lan Xichen smiled again and Wuxian found it extremely contagious so he grinned back just to show that there's  no hostility between them. 

From his peripheral view, Wuxian noticed a figure approaching them so he turned his head to the newcomer and Xichen did the same.

  
  
  


Wei Wuxian's eyes almost shed tears of happiness, excitement running in his veins so harshly that he made tiny jumps on his spot. The newcomer, face looking horrified and slightly uncomfortable, had taken a few steps back, already half way trying to run away before Wei Wuxian made a mad dash across the spacious place and stopped the familiar guy with a tight back hug. The force sent both of them falling to the ground and ended up rolling on the grass. 

  
  


“JIANG CHENG I MISSED YOU LOTS DAMMIT MAN I MISS YOU SO SO SO MUCH! CHENG CHENG, WHY DIDN'T YOU APPEAR WHEN I WAS STUCK IN MY ROOM!!!!”

  
  


The newcomer who had stumbled upon him and Lan Xichen was indeed his best bro slash co-worker slash editor slash mom friend, Jiang Cheng. But with long hair now. The way his brows frown, his lips curl downwards like a pout, how his eyes look like he's gonna kill someone, that's 100% Jiang Cheng alright.

  
  
  


But it seems like Jiang Cheng didn't want to have anything to do with Wuxian as he wrestled out of the hug hurriedly and stood up in no time, leaving Wuxian on the dirty ground all by himself. His face was of pure shock, mouth hung open incredulously.

  
  
  


“Jiang Cheng~~” Wuxian called his name again with a slight nasally voice, acting cute just the way Jiang Cheng hates it most. It was one way to disgust the said male, just to get a reaction out of him. “You're supposed to be my best friend! How could you just leave me alone in this foreign land and not find me? How did you get here?”

  
  
  


Lan Xichen looked bewildered at the view displayed in front of him, even Jiang Cheng looked perplexed and didn't show any signs of disgust. Wuxian narrowed his eyes, 

 

_ Something is not right. Chengcheng would definitely start a fight after he saw me doing those gross stuff. Did he not get transported to this place too? _

 

_ So… who is this guy? _

 

_ On another note, if there's a past Wei Wuxian, there will also be a past Jiang Cheng as well…. _

  
  
  
  


Wei Wuxian slowly stood up and brushed the grass and dirt off his robe and clothes, taking in how the two males were sharing a brief eye contact of what seems a tiny nonverbal conversation. 

 

“Let me guess,” Wuxian said. “I got the wrong guy and you concluded that I might have gone crazy?”

  
  
  


“No, Wuxian. This is indeed Jiang Cheng.” Lan Xichen had said with the same gentle smile as he gestured to the male in violet and grey clothes who he had tackled on to the ground just seconds ago. “However, his courtesy name is Jiang Wanyin and you have never called him by his given name before, not even ‘Chengcheng’.”

  
  


_ Interesting… _

  
  
  


“But I do remember you, Jiang Cheng.” Wuxian protested slightly.

  
  
  


Jiang Cheng, who doesn't seem to act like Jiang Cheng at all, moved nearer to Lan Xichen. “Maybe you hate me too much and your hatred roots deep, that's why you remember.”

  
  
  
  


“Wanyin!” Xichen scolded but he didn't look the least bothered. 

  
  
  


“Me?” Wuxian pointed a finger to himself with a confused face. “I hate you? Impossible!”

  
  


“Of course you hate me, you had to break-” before Jiang Cheng could even finish, Xichen had covered his mouth in order to stop him from spilling more.

  
  
  


Prince Xichen had laughed sheepishly and pressed a palm on the shorter male's mouth when Jiang Cheng tried to talk more. “My apologies, Wuxian. Wanyin always had trouble with conveying what he feels and what he wanted to say correctly so you mustn't take it to heart. Both of you just rarely meet, no harm is done and no negative relations between you two.”

  
  
  
  


It's nothing, really. He isn't the real Wei Wuxian anyway, he doesn't care about who hates him or vice versa in this place. No hard feelings taken but this Jiang Cheng, or Jiang Wanyin, seems to be very honest and straightforward, just like in the present time. He can be useful to Wuxian's case.

  
  
  
  
  


With a skilled smile, Wuxian continued. “If that's the case, I'm glad. Since you know I lost my memories, why don't we try to befriend each other again?”

  
  


Jiang Cheng's eyes fleeted from Wei Wuxian to Lan Xichen and back to Wuxian again. 

 

“That would be great,” Lan Xichen answered instead, still looking angelic as ever.

  
  
  


“Cool, I'll be hanging out- I mean, I'll visit your place tomorrow Wanyin.”

  
  
  


Although unsure and looking a bit forced, Jiang Cheng nodded.

  
  
  
  


_____

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Both of them is dating, that's for sure.” Wuxian mumbled to himself.

  
  
  


Jiang Cheng was definitely not trying to hide a thing but Lan Xichen did. And by the looks of it, Prince Xichen could handle Jiang Cheng pretty impressively hence drawing the conclusion that they are dating.  Well, he's just got to wait until tomorrow to figure things out. If Jiang Cheng and ‘Wei Wuxian’ truly hated each other, then more truth would be out in the open if he confronted the guy. Good things come to those who wait.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Now, wandering alone in the Garden of Peace, Wei Wuxian felt much better. He has a case to solve for the previous ‘ Wei Wuxian' so he wasn't entirely bored out of his wits any longer. A little detective game won't hurt anyone.

  
  


The place itself is peaceful just like it's name, with a few large ponds and gazebos to decorate the place, different plants and shady trees also planted to keep the area serene and relaxing. 

 

Wuxian took a deep breath and basked in the warm sunlight that passed through the shades from the nearest willow tree. 

  
  
  


A sudden strum of strings echoed in the garden and Wei Wuxian was brought out of his reverie back into the real world. He almost forgot the reason why he's here in the first place.

  
  


The strumming continued with precision as the sound and melodies it played turned into a full song, easy to listen but as you get to hear it more, a feeling of melancholy was present in the music. Surprisingly, the light and fast paced song contained such notes that could make you feel as if the world was against you, a saddening sentiment.

  
  
  
  


Wuxian had passed a few gazebos but so far, he hadn't seen the crown prince yet. If he had been playing the zither, he would need a place to sit down. But he wasn't easy to find, Wen Qing had mentioned, so it needs to be hidden somewhere.

  
  
  


The garden was exceptionally huge, one would need half an hour or so to make their way out from the green and tranquil location and amongst these gazillion trees, the crown prince is hiding. Wuxian stood under the same willow tree for a while, just looking out to the vast area in scrutiny. Then he found a rather quiet area where the sound of strings weren't that loud. He found it.

  
  
  
  
  
  


____

  
  
  
  


Lan Wangji had considered himself as someone simple, as long as he's able to eat two times a day and have a place to sleep, he'll be fine. And yet, he's the crown prince of this land and soon to be an emperor of his own, hence receiving all the things he never expected to have. Along with the golden treatment and abundance of wealth, comes great responsibility to rule his people. 

 

Sometimes, it get frustrating and stressful to sit next to his father in front of the many ministers for a hearing or just simply reading the reports as case study in his room all day. So he found it relaxing to have an hour off of his duties and do what he's good at, playing  _ guqin. _

  
  
  


When he finished the last note of the song, Wangji released a deep breath and felt at ease immediately. His secret hideout under the peach tree remains unknown. But today, it seems that he's not alone.

  
  


“Bravo, your highness!” a voice praised and following the compliment were clappings.

  
  


Wangji instantly looked up towards the source of voice and found a figure sitting idly on the branch of the peach tree, he was unable to recognize the face by the strong sunlight hitting his eyes. 

 

“Who's there?” he already had a hand on the handle of his sword right under his music instrument. 

  
  
  


“Calm down, princey. I'm here in peace.” The voice spoke again from on top of the tree.

  
  


There's only one person who would dare talk to him in such manner and tone, he recalled,  and that person is none other than… his own fiancé.

  
  


As the figure jumped down and landed right in front of him, flashing an easy grin that he almost forgot how it looks like, Wangji felt his chest tighten uncontrollably. 

  
  
  


“Climbing a tree is not allowed inside the palace grounds,” Wangji spoke coldly.

  
  
  


The person in front of him only chuckled. “If you don't tell anyone, nobody would know.”

  
  
  


“How did you find me?”

  
  
  


“You know, our hearts are connected and I used my heart to find you,” Wuxian smirked. “because we're soulmates!”

 

After that, the male had laughed cheerfully unlike how he used to before. It was strange, really, to see Wei Wuxian laugh and chortle so freely. Maybe it was for the fact that he had forgotten all the mishaps he had to go through in the past.

  
  
  
  
  


Wangji packed up his  _ guqin _ neatly and carried it on his back. All the while, Wuxian watched over his actions quietly with a small smile. 

 

He wasn't supposed to smile like that, Wangji said to himself.

  
  
  


As he prepared to leave and dusted off the dried leaves on his robe, Wei Wuxian had approached him and held his hand.

 

Surprised, the crown prince snatched his hand away at the speed of light and glanced at his fiancé wide eyed. 

  
  


Wuxian, instead of feeling angry, only stared at him in confusion. “What? Is it weird that I wanted to get close to my future husband? Or do you just hate me?” 

  
  
  


Wangji was speechless. He had spent the past few years without speaking much with Wei Wuxian, not speaking more than simple ‘good afternoon' and ‘have you eaten?’ but now, this guy was suddenly so eager for them to be on good terms, it was too sudden of a change.

 

So he said what went through his brain first, “ridiculous!”

  
  
  


Wei Wuxian seemed unfazed as he crossed his arm, an action that never happened in the past, and raised an eyebrow. “You are as awesome as I thought, a perfect ikemen but you're a total tsundere.”

  
  
  


“Excuse me, what?”

  
  
  


“Ah nothing, it's a term to simplify my words but you see, a total tsundere means you're a cutie but you're also snarky for some reason.” the amnesiac man said. “But don't worry, I like men who play hard to get.”

  
  
  


After that, Wei Wuxian had placed his hand on his lips before purposely blowing on his palm towards Wangji, winking an eye before galloping away towards the exit of the garden. 

It's a flying kiss but he doesn't understand that. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler for next chap??
> 
>  
> 
> "I wanna go home!!"
> 
> "You still want to go back to the house where you get beaten up for breathing? I suggest not."
> 
> "What?"
> 
> "Those nasty scars would be good enough reason for you to stay in the palace."
> 
> "What scars?"
> 
> "I don't know whether you lost your memories or ability to feel pain."
> 
>  
> 
> \------
> 
> Okay thats it for now i guess?
> 
> also i put a little insight of how lwj would feel near the end of the chapter but this might be a one or two time thingy since he needs to be mysterious and all ahhaahha what am i saying
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and being patient with me! Actually, the second was updated around september and i forgot to update the publication date lol silly me and i was planning to make this as a monthly update(?) im still not sure so no promises for now... also THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE FOR WHO HAVE READ THE STORY, EVEN LEAVING KUDOS AND SUCH NICE AND SMART COMMENTS YOU MAKE ME CRY, YOU GUYS ARE JUST TOO NICE T.T
> 
> tell me what you guys think, see you on the next update!!


	5. Equivocal Pt.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long rant ahead so skip to the story if you like
> 
> im terribly sorry for this super late update, a lot of things are happening around me and im just too baffled and confused at the sudden change of my environment so i hope that explains my not really active updates. and about my other fics, ive written and kept them in my phone so it's easier to edit and post whilst this piece is rather complicated so i needed my laptop .  
> and i would really like to thank everyone who had read, commented and gave this story kudos. I can't thank you guys enough for each supportive words about each chapter. also please do forgive the errors in this chapter.  
> this is rather short compared to my updates before but i hope some infos are finally cleared here, please enjoy!
> 
> / ILOVEYOUGUYS SO FREAKING MUCHHHH /

 

Of course, Wei Wuxian being Wei Wuxian, he isn’t one to succumb to boredom that easily. After his meeting with Lan Wangji aka the true love of his life in the garden, he had hurried back to his pavilion and decided to renovate his place a little. Renovate in a meaning that he needs to dig up any useful information he can get inside the study room and make a shipwreck of a mess of said place in order to discover any data that can back him up for future use.

 

The crown prince didn’t seem to hate ‘Wei Ying’ that much but he was certainly maintaining a safe distance between them which made it weird since Wuxian’s original deduction was that Lan Wangji hated him to the core but the look in the prince’s eyes show sadness more than hatred. Something must have happened in the past hence piquing Wuxian’s curiosity even more than it already is. 

 

Did they happen to fight before? But what were they fighting for? A woman? Money is unlikely the issue in this kind of household… perhaps, the throne? But… he doesn’t even know if he’s part of the royal lineage or not.

  
  


And since it looks like he’s not going back to his comfy life as an author anytime soon, might as well try to leave a lasting impression on Lan Wangji and be his ~~wife~~   consort for the long run.

  
  


Wuxian rolled the sleeves of his black robes until it reached his elbows and inspected the study room which used to be  _ Consort Wei’s  _ but now belonged to him. The room was spacious and a little cold, he could feel his nose itch by the smell of old books and paper all over the place. Near the entrance to the study room, a set of desk and chair was placed by a nearby bookshelf. The walls were decorated in minimalistic manner, only a pair of swords and a roll of painting were hung on the wall opposite the desk. Aside from rows and rows of filled bookshelves, a few poles for hanging lanterns, there was nothing else. 

His eyes darted around the place with a huff, there must be notes left behind by the real consort Wei around here somewhere.

 

Wuxian first went over the study desk, flicking over pages of papers left unattended. Unfortunately, the content was all about war strategies and weird terms that he couldn’t possibly understand. He went towards the bookshelf behind the desk next, checking each and every book, paying extra attention between the pages in case there might be a loose paper slotted in between. 

Hours passed by in a blur and by the time the sun started to set, Wuxian was exhausted beyond compare. He hadn’t even finished checking the first bookshelf and he still got at least 5 more rack to cover! He laid down on his back and pouted pitifully.

 

“Why won’t he make a proper daily journal or something?!” he complained to no one. Punching thin air out of frustration and exhaustion.

 

He still had a few books left to check and his back was already aching in pain. Really, he wasn’t used to this kind physical exertion of crouching down for hours.

Still lying down, Wuxian began to feel slightly drowsy and his eyes became unfocused.

“It’ll be pretty interesting if there’s a hidden compartment to hide stuff in this place.” Wuxian mumbled.

 

He finally sat straight and decided to tidy up before going back to have dinner. He glanced to the bookshelf he ransacked before, books messily scattered everywhere on the floor. As if on cue, his eyes zoomed in on the emptied section on the last row of the shelf. Well, nothing was out of place, the wooden material was covered with piling dusts and spider webs but based on Wei Wuxian’s superb instinct, there must be something in there. The books previously organized orderly on that particular spot were really really incredibly magnificently old, just one wrong move and the paper would tear. Even letters and ink were hard to decipher after years of hiding in the dark, humidity and weather plays a huge part on decaying the material.

 

But something was oddly weird about the specific book-organizing.

  
  


These books were too old to be placed near the desk, clearly no one would even read books as old as time as reference. Aren’t old books supposed to be placed on the shelf at the end of the room? Nobody was going to read it anyway, might as well burn it. So Wuxian inched closer to that section and sat there for minutes, figuring out what he’s supposed to find.

The sun dipped ever so slowly behind the mountain and soon, there won’t be any source of light in the room. Maids and servants will come crying to find him and his little expedition will be put to a halt. He needs to do it fast. Then he knocked against the wooden shelf with uncertainty, hoping to find a hidden compartment.

 

 

As if the shelf knew the owner was there, a small part of the wood fell over after the light taps and Wei Wuxian discovered a small opening into the shelf, only big enough for an adult’s hand to be inserted inside. Of course Wuxian was surprised, he did not expect ‘consort Wei’ himself would have the same way of thoughts like he did. Unsurprisingly, they are indeed the same person anyway although based on the name and physical expressions alone.

 

Wei Wuxian covered his right hand with his sleeves and timidly (but not given any other choice) pushed his hand inside the tiny cubicle compartment to feel if there’s anything inside, praying to the heavens that no weird bugs or frightening bones were found inside. The hidden section was very cramped you see, so not many things can be placed inside, having enough space only for 2 rolls of tissue stacked horizontally.

And there’s papers, neatly folded to a size of a palm. Edges of the item was already yellow and looked ancient enough. There’s an imaginary light bulb lighting up next to Wuxian’s head as he pressed the urge to scream in joy.  _ BINGO. _

 

 

 

“Consort Wei!”

“Consort Wei, please don’t wander off on your own. It’s getting dark!”

“Please come out of your hiding place, Master. The crown prince will get all of us killed if his highness knew we did not do our job properly and you’re not taken care of!”

 

 

 

Wuxian sighed as he heard the voice of the servants looking for him right outside the study room. With agility he didn’t know he had, Wei Wuxian pushed the wooden piece back to it’s slot, carefully arranged the books and scrolls where they belonged and slipped the papers he found into his robes. Deeming that his appearance didn’t look that bad except for that he smells like sweat, Wuxian stood by the door with his usual bright smile.

“I’m here!”

\-----

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Greetings to Consort Wei,” the young maids bowed lowly, hands neatly placed below their abdomen in an action of respect. 

 

By now, Wei Wuxian is used to these stuffy treatments and only waved them away like annoying flies. He no longer feel burdened by their existence, only thinking them as mere spirits wandering around the palace aimlessly and their voices as part of his imagination. 

  
  


Today is a new day. A day filled with exhilarating new adventures and mysteries ready to be solved, at least for Wei Wuxian that is. And today, dressed in a new set of clothing, grey and red, Wuxian had decided to pay his buddy a visit. 

  
  


Those maids who had greeted him earlier at the front gate belonged to the Lotus Pavilion, in meaning they are Jiang Cheng or now known as Jiang Wanyin’s attendants. Very similar to Wen Qing’s pavilion, the place was huge and very expensive looking although not as lavish since he’s a lower rank in terms of both seniority and power compared to Wangji’s mother. As an author, Wuxian couldn’t believe that he’s out of words to describe the maze-like courtyard and beautiful mini-garden in the center of the pavilion. 

  
  
  


A young eunuch had led him into the guest hall where Jiang Cheng was already waiting with a cup of steaming tea in his hands. Taking a deep breath, Wei Wuxian trudged towards the round table and made his way to his editor’s doppelganger. Jiang Cheng gestured the empty chair and of course, he took it wordlessly with a huge grin. Soon, the huge hall was empty save for the two males at the center of the room, atmosphere pretty rigid but not hostile.

  
  


“So… hi?” Wuxian smiles.

  
  


“You can drop the act, I know you did not lose your memories.”

  
  
  
  
  


Wuxian gasped. 

_ Hold on, where did he slip out of character and how did Jiang Cheng figure things out?! Calm down, maybe he's just bluffing. _

 

 

“The only thing I remember is my name and yours. If I had regained my memories miraculously, I would have screamed out in joy by now. I no longer need to depend myself on others and would never trouble everyone else for directions and other time-consuming questions.” Wuxian countered back. “And I would certainly not ask for anyone else’s help in providing me information like what I’m trying to do right now. You previously said I hated you immensely so if I did try anything funny, why would I be here?”

  
  
  


Jiang Cheng placed the cup on the table with an exasperated sigh. “One can never be too sure. The palace is a place full of deceit, you can’t blame me for being careful.” 

  
  


Taking a discreet long breath of relief, Wuxian gave himself a needed high-five for having his brain work at the right time before focusing back to Jiang Cheng’s troubled face.

  
  


“Does my existence bother you that much?” 

  
  
  


Jiang Cheng shrugged. “It was supposed to be the other way around.”

  
  
  
  


Cryptic answer again.

 

Wei Wuxian tried to dig up more. “What do you mean by ‘was’? You mean that I used to think that you bother me?”

  
  
  


 

“Yes, exactly.”

  
  
  
  


“Why though? Why would I hate you?”

  
  
  
  


There’s silence. Jiang Cheng looked unsure to provide any plausible response while Wei Wuxian can do this all day, he got nothing to lose.

  
  
  


“Prince Xichen had told me to ask you anything, but if you’re uncomfortable, just drop it. I’ll ask him myself and he would have to spare some time to entertain this silly me.” 

 

That was actually a false threat since Lan Xichen would rather stick pins to his eyeballs than to spill any information regarding past Wei Wuxian’s life. The prince was adamant on making a happier environment for him but Jiang Cheng doesn’t actually know that.   

  
  
  
  


Split-second after those words left Wuxian’s mouth, Jiang Cheng looked very alarmed and … bitter (?). But soon, those glaring eyes quivered in fear. 

After a moment of avoiding Wuxian’s eyes, Jiang Cheng finally built up enough courage to reply.

 

“Don’t bother his highness, I will tell you all.” Jiang Cheng spoke with his eyes darting everywhere.  “The truth is… I took the second prince away from you.”

  
  
  
  


His voice was so small, almost inaudible that Wei Wuxian thought he heard a breeze of wind passing by the windows instead of a human voice.

 

“Excuse me, second prince you say?” 

  
  


Jiang Cheng nodded, sipping his probably scalding tea down his throat. “It’s Lan Xichen’s position with the royal title of Zewu. He is the emperor’s second son.”

  
  
  


“Oh, so you mean my hubby is the third son since he’s younger? There’s a first son?” Wei Wuxian’s eyes sparkled in excitement that Jiang Cheng had never seen before and it was starting to creep him out. “But why is my hubby the crown prince when Prince Xichen is older? Welp, why do I even bother. It’s not like I have a say in the royal family drama anyway.”

  
  


“Are you referring Prince Wangji as your husband? You… accept that?”

  
  
  
  
  


The scenario is a bit complicated to understand so Wuxian raised an eyebrow at Jiang Cheng’s words. “Why wouldn’t I accept such handsome, beautiful, elegant, picture-perfect, flawless, hot, ground-breaking sexy, and musically talented man? He’s just another unfamiliar face to see after I fainted and yet, I almost called him god. I should be the one rejoicing at such predicament. I’m marrying a freaking priceless jewel!”

  
  
  


Wei Wuxian let out a star-struck sigh after getting an image of Lan Wangji stuck in his brain, the perfect man in his dreams.

 

“At first I was skeptical that you’re only pretending to forget but now I’m very sure that you lost every piece of memory in your head.” Jiang Cheng stared at the man sitting opposite of him around the table with a fierce expression, forehead wrinkling.

  
  
  


This time, it was Wuxian who shrugged with a bright smile as Jiang Cheng groaned.

 

The porcelain tea cup was slammed on top of the table and Wuxian held a hand on top of his chest to calm his surprised heart. Jiang Cheng suddenly stood up and glared at him. “I’m gonna break this down to you very quickly so pay attention. You have never liked me, you have never liked His Highness the crown prince, you never liked being in the palace and most of all, the only person you have ever truly loved was Lan Xichen. The reason why you hated me in the first place was because I took the second prince from your grasp so that I can be his fiance! So don’t be ignorant and just be upset like you used to!!”

  
  
  
  


Wei Wuxian blinked. His eyes staring at Jiang Cheng’s still fuming expression and chest heaving in anger, stunned and mostly amused. He crossed his arms on the table and tilted his head in curiosity. He just snapped a tight wire. Another bingo!

 

“So you were saying… I hated everyone here except Lan Xichen?”

  
  
  


“Yes.”

  
  
  


“And when you said Lan Xichen was taken away from me… doesn’t that mean I was previously in a relationship with the prince? And you meddled in the affair?” Wuxian rubbed his chin in thought.

 

Jiang Cheng finally calmed down and took a seat back, pouring himself another cup of tea from the porcelain pot, hand trembling as he did so. “That is true. You were engaged to the second prince when you were eight.”

  
  
  


Now it was Wuxian’s turn to stand up abruptly from his seat and gasped.

_ What is it with people getting engaged at young age?! Isn’t this against children rights to have a proper and carefree childhood?? Preposterous! This is child labor! And here I thought getting engaged at 12 was young enough… _

 

Jiang Cheng was staring at him with unhinged jaw as if he had grown a second head. 

  
  


“So uh- okay. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, it’s the side effects of the medicines… so...Let me try to summarize your information. I was engaged to the second prince when I was eight-”

  
  


“That was when Prince Xichen was still the crown prince,” Jiang Cheng intercepted. “But please continue.”

  
  


Wuxian nodded. “A-alright. So since I believed you took Lan Xichen away from me, I began to avoid and hate you. Then since my engagement was broken, I was offered to the second-best option available who happened to be the brother of my ex-fiance. And… coincidentally, I hated everyone so BAM, for the past few years I’ve been caught in a spider web of loveless romance and non-mutual affection with everybody else cause I am an antisocial kid. Is that why I tried committing suicide? Because I hated being here?”

  
  


Before asking random people to his current condition, Wei Wuxian had already listed off all the possible scenarios that might have happened in the past to cause him into a state of unconsciousness, but most of it doesn’t make sense. And according to the rumors among maids and low servants who gossiped about the royal family when their masters are asleep at night, ‘Wei Ying’ has been in a coma for 2-3 months after a terrible head injury. Just a normal case of falling wouldn’t cause him to pass out for almost a quarter of the year. To commit suicide, if ‘Wei Ying’ had been fed up by the people here from the beginning, he would have done it earlier. So why only now? 

  
  


Jiang Cheng looked baffled, his eyebrows knitted together into a serious frown. 

 

“What made you think you tried killing yourself? Are the servants feeding you false assumptions?! Let me know their names and I’ll report this to the crown prince, he will handle those pests!”

 

Furiously shaking his head, Wuxian denied it to play safe. “It’s no one’s fault. I was just desperately trying to find an answer to why I had been unconscious for so long.”

  
  
  


And this time too, precisely like how Wen Qing and YanLi had reacted, Jiang Cheng looked away from Wei Wuxian with an unreadable expression. So this has nothing to do with Jiang Cheng after all…

  
  


“I’m in no place to tell you anything about the accident. The emperor had made the decree. Anyone to bring up the matters of this accident inside the palace walls will be sent to jail or worse, have their tongues cut or even exiled to the rural mountains without a way to return back to the capital. Please just accept the fact that you’re now healthy and well and don’t ask this to anybody else.”

  
  


Wuxian shrugged with a smile as if he didn’t care but his mind is racing at such a high speed that he felt dizzy and nauseous. What kind of an accident so big to make the king himself declare such announcement? This decree is meant so that someone in this palace does not have a single clue about this ‘unfortunate incident’. Is it possible that the emperor is hiding this issue from someone important?

  
  
  


“So, does that makes us in-laws now?” Wuxian said with a glint of mischief in his smirk.

  
  


Automatically, Jiang Cheng blushed a deep shade of red on both of his cheeks but instead of looking like a shy school girl which was what Wei Wuxian was expecting to see, the other man slammed the poor cup on the table again until the bottom of said glass was chipped at the corners. 

 

Wei Wuxian wiggled his eyebrows. “After all, you’re now Prince Xichen’s person. And I’m the crown prince’s fiance. We’ll be inseparable especially since we’re both locked inside the palace all the time! Isn’t that right, Jiang Wanyin?”

  
  


Jiang Cheng groaned but did not try to deny it, averting his eyes to the ground instead. At least, this reaction was the same to the real Jiang Cheng because every time Wuxian won an argument, Jiang Cheng the editor would just grunt and didn’t protest. It gave him a sense of belonging here, a feeling of familiarity, as someone made him feel finally at ease in a foreign place.

  
  
  


“So can we be friends now? I’ll try not to cause you trouble or at least not too much of it,” Wei Wuxian asked sincerely.

  
  


Jiang Cheng glared at him. “No.”

  
  
  


Wuxian pouted and gave him the puppy eyes that he learned well during his school days. “Please? I have been so lonely! And I bet you’re lonely too. Can’t two lonely people be friends so that they don’t have to depend on their heartless and busy but still lovable lovers forever??”

 

Jiang Cheng look wavered.

“We’re not friends. But for now you are not my enemy.”

  
  
  


“Okay! That’s enough for me! I’ll call you Jiang Cheng from now on!”

  
  


The male in purple robes shook his head for a while. “Pardon me but I had spent my whole life knowing that you hated me and now to suddenly be acquainted with you is a bit...overwhelming.”

  
  
  


There’s a beat of silence in the spacious hall before Wei Wuxian erupted into laughter. “Who cares? I’ll still invade your personal space the same since you accepted my request. I’ll visit you every single day until you get used to me and my pretty face!”

  
  
  


“Please tone down your voice, it’s giving me a headache.”

  
  
  


“Nope, I’m gonna scream and shout until you get used to my melodic voice.”

  
  
  


Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes when Wuxian began singing weird songs but doesn’t look exactly annoyed. After all, the palace was actually too quiet the past few years.

  
  
  


Since Wei Wuxian was here, might as well try his luck and see if Jiang Cheng can get him additional info.

 

“I wonder why I hated everyone here…  They all seems so nice.” 

  
  


“I might have an idea to your hateful nature but I am not certain if my personal thoughts are correct so I shall not say it in the meantime.”

  
  


Wuxian rubbed his chin with curiosity,  dying to know what Jiang Cheng was currently thinking about. “But Noble Consort Wen was nice to me, and I hated her in the past right?”

  
  
  


“... Yes. When I said you detest everyone and everything here, you even hated the pillars and grasses of the palace. Even the innocent horses in the stable.” Jiang Cheng added.

  
  


“Oh. Have I really lived here since small?”

  
  
  


“You have started living in the Orchid Pavilion after you got engaged to Prince Xichen so that means yes, you have.”

 

Looking a little baffled, Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow. “How come? I‘m not of a noble blood…”

  
  
  


“You were a minister’s son who often visited the palace. I heard your mother was a distant relative to Consort Wen so you were given permission to enter the palace during the summer.”

  
  
  


“Were? Like, I’m no longer the minister’s son? Wait are my parents dead?” Wuxian gasped dramatically with a hand covering his mouth. 

  
  


Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue with an equally dramatic sound. “Of course no.”

  
  


Wei Wuxian stopped asking for a while, fingers tapping against the smooth surface of the wooden table in deep thought. “Then why didn’t they visit me when I was bed-ridden? Every high-ranked officials did, even when they don’t know me personally.”

  
  
  


“Your family has been banned from entering the palace.” said Jiang Cheng, finding difficulty in trying to deliver this information to the amnesiac man.

  
  


“Oh that’s too bad, maybe I could visit them instead! They live in the capital too right?”

  
  


“No, you aren’t allowed to randomly leave your pavillion.”

  
  
  


“But I wanna go home! See my parents! See my family! They must have missed me too, probably worried of my welfare.”

  
  


There’s a confused expression on Jiang Cheng’s face but soon changed into realization since he forgot something. “Are you still going back to the household that bullied and harassed you? I thought you wouldn’t forget about that, at least..”

 

“Excuse me?”

  
  
  


“They beat you up….torment you mentally and physically.”

  
  


Before Wuxian could ask for more, since he doesn’t understand any of it, Jiang Cheng already beat him to it by speaking first.

“You want to go home to the people who hurt you? I suggest not.”

  
  
  


“Why?”

  
  
  


“Those scars on your back… that’s enough reason for you to never return. Stay in the palace for good. That’s for your own sake.”

  
  
  


“Huh? What scars are we talking about?”

Wuxian is not an idiot so of course he had felt the rough scars on his back whenever he bathed, each strikes of scar making a red contrast against his pale skin. Some of them were from old wounds so it didn't hurt at all while some were new so he was slightly confused. Wasn’t the ‘Wei Wuxian’ here treated like how a prince would, pampered and tended very delicately? Wuxian made an assumption that this was caused by battle or war but it seems like the old ones has got something to do with his family. 

 

“You lost both your memories and ability to feel pain. Great!”

  
  
  


“Hey… I didn’t know alright. I thought it was normal back pain.” He feigned innocence with a bright smile. 

  
  


Jiang Cheng had opened his mouth to rebuke Wei Wuxian’s lack of sensitivity when the doors at the end of the hall were slammed open from the outside. The two males had to direct their attention to the new guest.

  
  


“Daddy!” came the cries of a toddler, running full speed as fast as his short legs could towards Jiang Cheng, a beam etched across his face. Behind the young toddler, an army of attendants who Wuxian assumed as the kid’s nannies, were running with their head hung low too.

  
  


Once the child managed to latch on Jiang Cheng’s leg, the man picked the kid up to safely carry him… or her in his arms. The maids had kneeled on the ground a safe distance away, planting their whole body to the surface of the floor.

 

“We deserve to die, Consort Jiang! We were unable to stop Young Master from entering the guest hall.” said the head of nanny.

  
  
  


_ This seems fun! So Cheng Cheng finally got a son?  _

 

“You had one job…” Jiang Cheng seethed, eyes looking down on these women as if they were despicable insects who deserved to be incinerated alive. 

  
  
  


“Daddy, I want to play!” the kid squealed in joy as he hugged Jiang Cheng’s neck tight, not noticing the adult's very vicious aura. 

  
  


But as soon as Jiang Cheng finally registered the child's bright grin, the man’s expression softened in a matter of microsecond and patted the child’s head with utmost care. “But we have guest right now so let's postpone it first...”

  
  
  


And at that moment, the kid finally saw another familiar guy sitting near them, dressed in a rather casual manner compared to other palace residents who were usually very formal in the way they dress. Wei Wuxian waved his hand and paired it with a smile at the toddler when they had eye contact. 

 

“Father’s friend?” the kid asked to no one in particular, just letting his thoughts out so that anyone can provide him an answer.

  
  


“You can say that,” Jiang Cheng replied with patience. “He is uncle Wangji’s -uh….”

  
  
  


“-lover.” Wuxian cut him midsentence. “Nice meeting you, I’m going to be your uncle soon! My name is Wei Wuxian, you can call me uncle Xian or Xian  _ gege  _ is fine.”

  
  
  


There’s uncertainty in the child’s face but he lit up the next few seconds. His round and pinchable cheeks were stretched upward into a blinding smile as his tiny baby teeth made an appearance. “I’m Jingyi!”

 

“Jingyi…” Jiang Cheng softly scolded. “You should address him as ‘Consort Wei’.”

  
  


“But… I like saying Xian  _ gege. _ ” His lower lips wobbled, as if any moment now he might burst out crying. His teary eyes made Jiang Cheng melt so he just dropped it with Wuxian saying it’s fine with the lack of formality.

  
  


“Oh well, I need to do something else anyway. You can play with your daddy now, I won’t interrupt.” Wuxian patted the young boy’s head carefully and without feeling shy or scared, the kid beamed brighter. 

“Come again, Xian  _ gege! _ ”

  
  


_ This can’t be Jiang Cheng’s son. That no-fun geezer doesn’t even smile the day he won a lottery so this kid should probably be Xichen’s since the toddler is ball of sunshine? _

  
  


Along with Wuxian leaving, all the previous maids were also dismissed so that the father and son duo could spend time together. When everyone were outside of the hall, Wei Wuxian stopped the head nanny for a short talk.

 

“May I assist you, Consort Wei?”

  
  


“Uh, about Jingyi …. Jingyi is Prince Lan Xichen’s son, am I right?”

  
  


“You are correct, Your Highness. Young Master Lan is indeed the second prince’s only child.”

  
  
  


“How old is the kid?”

  
  
  


“Almost three, Consort.”

  
  
  


“What about the mother?”

  
  


The head nanny could only gulp with her head hung low since it was a sensitive topic but everyone in the palace knew Consort Wei lost his memories so might as well let him know now or he’ll directly ask Prince Xichen and cause more trouble for everyone.

 

“Lady Ji passed away after giving birth to the young prince. We also thought Young Master wasn’t going to make it but heavens had blessed the royal family.”

  
  


Wuxian nodded, finally understanding the situation. So his position and Jiang Cheng’s were pretty similar. The two Lan brothers got a wife and a consort and no other extra concubines. 

 

“Jiang Ch- I mean, Consort Jiang looks pretty close to Jingyi.”

  
  


Head nanny finally smiled. “Yes, that is indeed a miracle. Young Master Jingyi could not stop crying if Consort Jiang is not around. He had been raising Young Master as his own flesh and blood and even Prince Xichen could not receive the same affection from Young Master Jingyi.”

  
  
  


_ Complicated family tree. Ticked. _

_ A dead parent. Ticked _

_ This is every protagonist’s backstory… _

_ And if A-Li jie jie gives birth, then the newborn and Jingyi are cousins. A playmate. And what? They’ll fight for the throne one day?That’s how it usually is on periodic drama. Tragic. _


	6. Equivocal Pt.2

 

 

For the next few weeks, Wei Wuxian wasn’t able to meet up with Jiang Cheng at all. Not even Yanli or Wenqing. Not even catching a single glimpse on Lan Wangji anywhere in the palace. Other princes and princesses seemed to float around somewhere in the palace but funnily enough, Wuxian couldn’t see or spot those who are familiar to him anywhere.

 

He was whisked away by his attendants and those smart-asses ministers for lectures on literature classes most of the time, learning the arts of war and getting his knowledge tested on calligraphy and painting. It was one hell of a ride for sure since Wuxian had to rely on his high school memories on history and geography for most of the time and that’s not all.

After getting important theories noted down, the teachers weren’t satisfied just yet. The poor soul that is Wei Wuxian was forced to attend the physical training in the training ground. 

And he’s gonna screw up. So bad.

 

“I need a break!” Wuxian hollered without a hint of shame after only getting warmed up with the rest of guards, already breathing harshly and resting both hands on his knees. The warm up wasn’t even hard, just running a few laps around the front court, meaning it was just a tiny area compared to the horsing field.

 

“Your highness, is there something wrong? You don’t look too well.”

 

 

_ Of course I’m not well, you fools! I never exercised with this much vigor! I’m not your usual Wei Ying!! _

Wuxian cleared his throat and straightened his posture to look slightly dignified. “I am fine, maybe it is the effect of my medication making my head spin sometimes. I thought I’m fully healed by now, how foolish of me.”

 

That was a bullshit of course, the medication they had given him were nothing stronger than ibuprofen since all of the concoctions are from herbal stuff, but he needed an excuse to escape this hell so what else is better than his previously declined health that even caused a memory loss? Wuxian cackled evilly in secret.

 

“If you are feeling rather unwell, we will halt all activities and rest under the canopy tent near the archery range until you feel better, consort.” The head guard had answered shortly.

 

Wuxian glanced around the vast training ground divided into different activities with curious eyes and stopped until his sight finally wandered to the unoccupied archery range. The area was rather commodious and empty compared to the crowded sword sparring and combat area. But on another look, the archery range was not at all empty save for a single person training on his own.

 

“No, it is alright. I’ve been hindering all of you from physical activities these past few days and I know well that because of me, you lot had to stand all day and do nothing except to be on guard and alert day and night. I bet it was very boring for you to be on standby and be idle so please continue the activity while I rest on my own. I believe all of you had wanted to attend training to release some muscle tension so please, do continue.”

 

The way Wei Wuxian had said it sounded so virtuous and caring that some of the junior guards had glanced at him with gleaming eyes of respect and adoration. 

 

The head guard had bowed with gratitude. “Then, if you insist, we shall be in the combat area and a few of us will be in the front field. If you need anything, please call us or the nearby servants.”   

 

“Of course, be on your way then.” Wuxian said with such a sweet and generous smile that nobody even suspected that he was bullshitting his way out of getting some needed exercises. He waved his hand curtly, showing a dismissal gesture that he learned from observing the other ministers and royalties. 

 

Well, at least one problem is solved…

 

Wei Wuxian had never liked shiny days, dark grey skies are more to his taste so today, his mood is certainly not the best. The sun was shining as if someone had angered it into releasing so much heat and light to the world and it’s not even fully summer yet. With hard effort, Wuxian finally made it to the archery range but kept his presence unknown to the lone man who had been practising his shooting skills from the moment he got here.

 

Under the canopy, Wuxian silently stared. 

The young man’s posture is great, his elbows’ angle and arms are in perfect holding position and his stance was immaculate. With the help of wide shoulders and tall but slender body posture, this fellow might be someone with a great military background just by looking  a single glance. The man let go of the string of his bow with precision and the three arrows pierced through air swiftly, hitting the red circle of the faraway target right at the center of it alongside gazillion other arrows that he had previously shot.

 

 

“Bravo!” Wuxian clapped (because who won’t after seeing the show?).

 

The man was, of course, so surprised at the sudden arrival of an uninvited guest that he dropped his wooden bow but was quick enough to use his feet to cushion the fall of his weapon before it reached the ground and bounced it back upwards so he can hold it in his hand again.

“Also, amazing reflexes! I must say I’m truly impressed. I’m Wei Wuxian, Wei Ying, nice to see a youth who doesn’t put their talents to waste.”

 

The young boy with timid face and exceptionally silky black hair clutched his bow tightly in his arms, flustered and avoiding any sort of eye-contact. To Wuxian’s surprise, the young man went on one knee and bowed his head, “Wen Qionglin greeting your highness, I’m at your service!”

 

“Gosh, is there anyone in this palace that doesn’t know me?” Wuxian chuckled as he helped the man to stand up. “I mean, I’m not even legally married to the crown prince yet and everybody had been treating me like some sort of a prestigious  royal.”

 

“B-because you are indeed an important part of our kingdom,” Wen Qionglin stuttered, eyes still casted downwards. “The emperor thinks highly of you, even the general and lieutenant respects your intelligence. You are appreciated not only because you will be marrying the crown prince.”

 

Wuxian smiled with pride. “Aren’t you a nice child? You’re especially good with words. Say, do you have a nickname or something… the shorter version of your name perhaps?”

“...W-Wen Ning.”

 

“So Wen Ning dear, why are you training on your own?” Wuxian said as he circled around the shy and embarrassed young man. “No friends to accompany you?”

 

Wen Qionglin began to fidget but not out of fear but instead, out of anxiety. He let out a tiny sigh unconsciously and when he realized that Wei Wuxian heard him, he began to apologize. “I’m sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable! I just… j-just, not good with people. I don’t have friends here.”

 

The innocent boy looked really conflicted and crestfallen that Wuxian was having a hard time to stop himself from giving the other a nice big hug and apologize for asking in the first place. 

_ I deserve ten slaps, good work Wei fucking Wuxian! Now you hurt a child’s heart! _

 

 

“Then let’s start your first friendship with me! You live in the palace right? Since, you’re also good with archery, why don’t you teach me too!” Wuxian claps excitedly and pretended to pull an imaginary bowstrings to shoot.

 

Wen Ning was going to say something but held back again, one time he looked ecstatic but the other second he looked troubled. What a weird kid.

 

“Uh, your highness… maybe you weren’t informed yet, about your previous achievements and all... but you were a very good archer. The best archer in the palace…”

 

For a few seconds, Wei Wuxian’s smile froze. Then his eyebrows started to furrow whilst still smiling and slowly his nose crinkled at the unexpected information. Then the edges of his curved lips began to slowly drop. Right there and then, Wei Wuxian shook his head in denial with an unattractive frown he usually sports when he’s stuck with a writer’s block or when Chengcheng ate all his leftover takeaways. 

 

“Haha, excuse me while I clean all of the excess dirt piling up in my ears. You almost got me! Great joke and great acting but please cut it out, you scared me for a second there.”

 

“Young master…”

 

Wen Ning bit his lower lip, looking obviously uneasy.

 

“You’re not kidding, are you?” Wuxian pressed his lips together.

 

 

Wen Ning shook his head. 

 

_ Now the scars on my back makes complete sense. Being a man kept as a trophy husband, this body shouldn’t have any scars in the first place. Wei Ying was a total badass then. The pair of swords in the study room, bow and arrow I found below the bed, the dagger beneath the tile… those were not just a secret hobby of collecting weapons and to hurt himself. That was for self-defense and offence!  _

_ But, I think I’m missing one important link here.  _

_ There were tons of guards in the palace, why would ‘WeiYing’ need these many sharp items? Military habit? High possibility. If my assumptions are right, this means- _

 

 

“...ster. Young Master? Consort Wei, are you alright?” 

Wen Ning’s alarmed voice woke Wei Wuxian from his deductions and hypothesis-making session. He braved a bright smile almost immediately to cover up his moment of blanking out and patted the young man’s shoulders briefly. 

Wuxian chuckled, “I was just surprised. I never expected to be good at something especially in handling such a dangerous weapon.”

 

There’s a worried frown on Wen Ning’s face now. “It is my fault, I should have not told you about it. Just pretend you never heard anything from me, your highness.”  

 

Wen Ning is such a sweet innocent child, this young boy remains pure even in the midst of the dirty play inside the palace. Wei Wuxian is good with reading people just by looking at their face and observing their actions on the first minute so he concluded that Wen Ning deserves to be his friend.

 

“What are you both doing here?!”

The easy ‘fuck’ almost slipped out of Wuxian’s tongue as he was surprised for the nth time that day. The booming voice belonged to a tall muscular guy clad in silver armors that military soldiers usually use while on duty just minus the fancy silver headgear and shiny spear. He was intimidating in  ~~ many ~~ some way and looks like the typical no-nonsense no-fun guy. 

 

_ He’s like the terracotta soldier or something, awesome beard and mustache though _ . 

 

Wen Ning lowered his head and palm saluted the big guy. “Apologies, Captain Yang! I-I was…”

 

“You fully knew that the crown prince will be using the archery range but here you are! What were you thinking?!”

 

_ Crown Prince? Lan Wangji??  _

Wei Wuxian craned his neck and darted his eyes around the area. Well, there he was, the ever pristine and cold-as-ice crown prince surrounded by his own personal guards looking as if his beloved pet died but forced to attend his archery lessons nonetheless. It’s been such a long time since they last met and Wei Wuxian still felt breathless whenever their eyes met.

 

However, Wuxian noticed that instead of his usual long robes of flowing silk cloth that he usually wore, today Lan Wangji is clad in a simpler style that gives more ease for moving around, but still white and blue in color.  The crown prince had all his long black hair tied up into a neat ponytail, clasped tightly with his golden coronet on top of his head, shining brightly against the sun. 

 

“Captain Yang, stand back.” His voice was so deep that it gave Wuxian goosebumps in the middle of the day. 

_ Lan Wangji could have been a great ASMR youtuber if he’s in the modern times. _

And just by that order alone, Captain Yang took a few steps backwards and nodded his head in obedience. Once he’s fully appeared in front of Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji stared at them as if they had done a treacherous act under broad daylight.

 

“Greetings, Crown prince!” Wen Ning went down on one knee and avoided the eye contact as soon as possible, not willing to do anything else other than showing respect by bowing his head downwards.

 

Wei Wuxian was really clueless on what to do. Back then when he was meeting Wangji’s mother, there are the senior eunuchs who helped him pay his greetings and saying the right words. Even when meeting Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen wasn’t this nerve-wrecking. This time, no one can help so Wuxian said the first word that his brain came up with; “Hi.”

 

 

The nearby guards raised their eyebrows at the greeting, the creepy Captain Yang narrowed his eyes, even Wen Ning turned his head and craned his head upwards to eye the usually formal and uptight Consort Wei. 

“Good Afternoon,” Lan Wangji replied before anyone could comment about Wei Wuxian’s lack of accolade to the nation’s future emperor or how the crown prince didn’t even feel offended. 

 

“Uncle, you may rise.” the crown prince said again.

“Many thanks to your highness!” Wen Ning gratefully obeyed the order and bowed one more time.

 

 

_ Wen Qing… Wen Ning… Uncle. _

“Are you Imperial Consort Wen’s younger brother?” Wuxian asked thoughtlessly while jabbing an accusing finger on Wen Ning’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me!”

Wen Ning glanced at the crown prince with terrified eyes, then glanced back to Wei Wuxian who supposedly lost his memories. “Uh.. Young Master Wei, I thought it didn’t matter.”

 

“How did it not matter?! You’re my fiance’s uncle, although you look terribly young to be one, so I should have shown more courtesy.” 

 

There’s a stunned silence in the small group in the archery range, no one could have imagined the words to come out from the infamously cold Wei Wuxian himself. Even Lan Wangji looked baffled.

 

_ Oh crap, I said something I shouldn’t have! _

 

“I mean… haha, you’re the consort’s younger brother so of course you’re a higher rank in terms of status. Haha. I said that to make things sound easier,” Wuxian was sure he was smiling that stupid sheepish smile he always uses when he’s deep in trouble. 

 

Wen Qionglin heaved a relieved sigh, “please do not be bothered by the hierarchical system. Although I am the consort’s brother, I do not hold any important post in contrast to Young Master who had been highly involved in politics and military. Also, I am younger so there should not be any honorifics used to me. It’s supposed to be the other way around.”

 

 

Lan Wangji looked as if he had enough of the shit going on between the two newly acquainted people, his face was already gloomy to start with, so he cleared his throat once and his personal attendants had scurried over from all the way back and brought over an expensive-looking bow, two miniature dragons engraved on the handle.   

 

The crown prince picked up an arrow with red and yellow feather fletching presented from Captain Yang and immediately got into the perfect ready position. Arms outstretched, string pulled back, legs apart, shoulders back, arrow straight, eyes sharp. Lan Wangji let his arrow speed against the headwind and to Wuxian’s surprise, the red and yellow arrow that Wangji had released just pierced through Wen Ning’s black arrow that had already been on the center of the target and split the wooden arrow into two flimsy parts. 

 

The attendants all clapped their hands, as expected from their capable crown prince. 

 

Wei Wuxian wanted to say that it was awesome, it increased his admiration level by 100 points to the guy, but isn’t this sort of hurting Wen Ning’s feelings and pride? 

 

He looked to the side and saw that Wen Ning did not even dare to lift up his head to look at the results. 

“Both of you are very gifted in archery,” Wuxian praised with a cheery tone to dismiss the tense atmosphere. “I could never do that, I mean, not that I remember of.”

 

“Why don’t you try?” 

Wuxian regained his senses back and realized that he was now facing directly at Lan Wangji with that weird expression that made him look like a constipated idiot. Everyone was looking at him expectantly, urging him to accept the bow from the crown prince.

 

Without any other option, Wei Wuxian accepted the bow and arrow given to him, internally crying to any god out there to save him. Once upon a time, young Wei Wuxian was hit by a toy arrow and it left a traumatizing experience that left him bedridden for three days due to his injured eye. 

 

Hands shaking, Wuxian tried his best to copy Wen Ning’s posture and hand position that he saw earlier as to not look like a total ameuteur and be the laughing stock to all the soldier (tarnishing Wei Ying’s good reputation).

 

All of a sudden, he felt a warm hand clasping on top of his own to stop the trembling movement on the grip. Another hand helped Wuxian to find the correct position of his fingers on the string and arrow shaft. 

 

“Let your body remember,” Wangji spoke ever so calmly with his chest pressed against Wuxian’s back.

 

_ How can I do that when I can feel your fuckin hard chest?! _

 

But Wei Wuxian chased away all of his very horny and inappropriate thoughts out of the window and heaved a deep breath to calm down. He closed his eyes and pretended to be Wei Ying. 

If he’s Wei Ying, what would he be doing right now? 

Concentrate. Focus. Let the instincts take control. Listen.

 

So when Wuxian opened his eyes again, he’s determined to test out this weird but plausible theory. Lan Wangji guided his hand to pull the string back but slowly removed himself after deeming that Wei Wuxian can handle it on his own. 

Instead of releasing the arrow to the target, Wei Wuxian turned his aim slightly to the upper right and pulled the strings back as hard as he could with a certain target in mind before releasing his pointy arrow. 

 

Everyone including Lan Wangji was bewildered by the action because the crown prince had directed carefully so that the direction of arrow will land somewhere on the circle target and everyone is trying to figure out why Consort Wei isn’t going with the easy path. Some even snickered mockingly at the failed attempt.

 

Suddenly, the tree right outside the training bordering walls where Wei Wuxian’s arrow had gone to began to rustle. The movement of said tree was too strong even if there’s the wind. Wen Ning immediately stood right in front of Wei Wuxian in a defensive stance, hand already hovering above his sword handle by his waist.

 

Captain Yang widened his eyes. “Check the tree!”

 

At the order, some of the nearby soldier jogged to the area while the rest of them had circled around the crown prince in alarm. Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning was left outside of the protection circle without a clue to what’s going on. 

 

“What did you hit?” Captain Yang barked at Wuxian furiously, already unsheathing his sword.

 

Wei Wuxian shrugged easily with a bow still in his hand. “How would I know? I just thought it was some pheasants since the branches on that tree kept on moving even when there’s no wind.”

 

The seemingly innocent remark left Captain Yang in a mini panic attack as he surveyed the surroundings with keen eyes.

A few minutes later, the soldiers assigned to check the tree came back while dragging a black-clad figure back to the canopy tent.

 

“Captain, we found this man right below the tree with an arrow on his chest. He was carrying a crossbow and a poisoned dagger that he used to slit his own throat.”

 

All the people present were shocked. Especially Wei Wuxian. 

Others were surprised to know that the Consort Wei who had lost his memory could remember the instincts of hunting and how to shoot long distance. Wei Wuxian himself was surprised to know that he could actually shoot! Right on the chest even!

 

But the truth was that Wuxian had noticed the weird tree movements outside the borders since earlier today, suspecting that someone was here to keep an eye on him or hurt him or worse, kill him. However, the culprit did not attack even when his personal guards were away so that means someone more important is the real target. 

 

And at least this way one of the theory is proven right; the body remembers activities that Wei Wuxian doesn’t. 

“Get the crown prince to safety! Bring the body to the main camp, request for an audience from the unit commander and second-in-command regarding this! Quick!”

 

Lan Wangji was immediately ushered out of the training ground just minutes after he had released only one arrow during his practice. Such a pity that Wuxian could only see hottie for a short moment but they got no other choices. The crown prince doesn’t look unwilling to be dragged away, since he is expressionless all the time, but he did glance over his shoulder to take a last look on Wei Wuxian with that weirdly sad eyes. All the while Wei Wuxian only waved his hand goodbye and offered a blinding grin.

 

“So… what do you think of the occurrence just now?” Wuxian asked nonchalantly while swinging the priceless bow that belongs to Lan Wangji around.

 

Wen Ning bit his lower lip. “An espionage. An assassination attempt to the royal family. An act of revenge or revolt. It could be one of these three or all in one.”

 

“Good boy,” Wuxian praised with a proud smile. “But say, what do you usually do in the palace aside from training in the archery ground?”

 

“Uh- I make sure not to bother anyone.”

 

“That’s useless considering your immense potential. Why don’t you come along with me? I have a mystery case I would like to crack so I believe you’d be a great partner.”

 

There’s a blush creeping up on Wen Ning’s pale cheeks. “I-I don’t deserve to be your partner! But I can be a sidekick or a personal guard if you wish?”

 

 

Wei Wuxian smirked. “Excellent.”

 

 

 

 

\---

 

There was no news or rumors spreading after the incident in the training grounds. No one talked about how a spy had almost entered the palace walls. No one discussed about how the crown prince’s future consort had just shot someone even after losing his memories. The palace was so quiet that it became highly suspicious.

 

 

“The emperor’s covering things up, what other reason is there for the painfully tranquil atmosphere.”

 

Wei Wuxian nodded thoughtfully, fingers scratching his chin as if he had long grey beard to play with. He had also figured someone would try to hide the the details of the incident but he was not sure it was the emperor.

 

“Is this something closely tied to the Emperor’s latest decree?”

 

Jiang Wanyin sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest while watching Prince Jingyi run about the courtyard along with other maids from afar. “That’s what I’m suspecting.”

 

Wuxian leaned his head back to the pillar he’s currently standing next to and began thinking to himself again. The portico provided enough shade to avoid the bright sunlight and this is the best place for Wei Wuxian to let his brain venture the numerous possibilities. 

Everyone in the palace has acted as if Lan Wangji had never existed before, never once talking about him or what he’s doing lately after the incident. The latest information of his well-being was only through Wen Ning who had visited his elder sister and plucked some inside story from Lady Wen and that was a week ago. It seems like the crown prince has been under strict and tight supervision from the most capable men in the country (Unit commander and general included). The only time Lan Wangji will roam around the castle freely is tomorrow, the day where ministers’ sons and daughters enter the palace to make connections.

 

“Since you have no idea what actually happened, why are you so sure that I did not make anything up?” Wuxian jokingly asked while kicking Jiang Cheng’s long purple robes. “I could have been lying to you about what happened in the training field.”

 

There was a moment which is filled with the elated laughter coming from Jingyi before Jiang Cheng finally answered. “Memory lost or not, I believe you are not a person to do something like that. You might hide your feelings or your personal views but you will certainly not hide the truth.”

 

 

“I’m actually touched right now,” the male in grey and red robes pretended to shed dramatic tears as he launched himself to the unsuspecting Jiang Cheng for a strangling bear hug. 

 

When Wei Wuxian misses his modern times, his comfortable home and life of solitude, he’d immediately go to Jiang Cheng. He’s the only thing, or person in this case, here that gives him comfort that even handsome guys like Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen couldn’t offer. 

 

“Get off of me!” Jiang Cheng managed to push Wuxian away after struggling hard against the tight grip. “I only trust you this time because it might affect Jingyi anyway so don’t be too full of yourself. I need to be careful in case anyone’s trying to make a death wish by aiming Lan Xichen’s son.”

 

Again they lapsed into a comfortable silence, just directing their eyes on the little prince who ran excitedly while welcoming Lady Wen, his grandmother, with much enthusiasm into the Lotus Courtyard.

 

 

“Tomorrow, you know what could happen right?” 

 

Wei Wuxian tidied his robes from creases with a deep sigh, disappointment evident in his voice. “Yeah. Only two things. A new consort chosen or another assassination attempt.”

 

Jiang Cheng nodded. “Good, now let’s greet her highness first.”

 

 

\------

 

 

 

 

It was just a simple request actually.

 

“Let’s have dinner together. All seven of us. This is your first time meeting the Emperor after you lost your memories so I believe another introduction would be nice. And can you please let Wangji know about this tomorrow?”

 

It’ll be fun, she said. We’ll get to bond as a family, she also said during the short visit to see Prince Jingyi.

Wei Wuxian is also mildly, well no, very curious to what the emperor looks like to produce such amazing and visually attractive children, also as the man who made weird decisions and decree.

Yeah, easier said than done because Wen Qing is attempting the ultimate impossible that is to:

  1. Get the ever so antisocial Lan Wangji to attend to this family dinner
  2. Get the ever so rowdy Lan Jingyi to have a decent meal together



 

To be honest, the second one is easier than the first. Lan Wangji would never object having dinner together with his family, it’s his duty as a son also as the crown prince after all. But it’ll be hard to approach the man who’s being crowded by almost twenty people at this exact moment. This is the only day of the year that the palace gates are open to scholars and surely everyone has their eyes on the future emperor. Bad for Wei Wuxian cause this is his only chance to ask for Lan Wangji’s attendance for the dinner tonight. 

Yes, tonight.

Lady Wen gives a very short deadline...

 

Wei Wuxian stared at the crowd from afar, calculating the fucks he needs to give just to eat dinner with that stupidly beautiful guy. The answer is plenty. Wei Wuxian would kill for a chance to have a one-on-one talk with Lan Wangji again. 

 

“And what am I doing here, again?” Jiang Cheng asked with much annoyance that anyone could feel the piercing cold aura stabbing them if they happen to be near consort Jiang.

 

Wei Wuxian, Jiang Wanyin and just-dragged-along Wen Qionglin were standing behind the bushes, keeping their eyes on the crown prince and his very many admirers wandering around in the palace’s garden. All of them were laughing, chuckling and offering praises as the usual sycophantic etiquettes required to have easy access to the palace in the future whereas Lan Wangji himself remained stoic, cold, emotionless amidst the cheerful atmosphere. 

 

“Mental support. I need the mental support. He’s in a very bad mood.” Wuxian mumbled while still looking for a leeway to approach Lan Wangji. “And you might be of help since you are the brother-in-law after all.”

 

Jiang Cheng palmed his face and groaned in defeat.  

“Okay here’s the plan. We just go up there, talk to him about the plans for tonight as per instructed by mother dearest, he agrees and we’ll be having dinner at the end of the day. Easy.” There’s confidence in Wuxian’s voice but he himself has a bad feeling about this.

 

So they tried to approach the rowdy group.

 

Once close enough to the circle of chattering people, Wei Wuxian realized that Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning both stayed behind the bushes and only observing from afar unlike what they had planned. Betrayed, yes. So he gotta do what he has to do. He trudges forward, half a mind checking his reflection by the humongous fish pond by the walkway to see if he looked presentable enough.

 

“Excuse me,” Wuxian said in the most polite tone he had ever used. “Please make way, this is kind of important.”

 

A lady in bright pink and yellow clothes glared at him, along with a few irritated young men and women. “Who do you think you are?! Are you even allowed to accompany His Highness the crown prince around the palace?”

 

_ Hah, you’ll be surprised to know who I am _

_ But that’s for later coz I have something more urgent at hand. _

 

“Your highness,” Wuxian tried to call out from his position. Lan Wangji looks preoccupied with his own thoughts and did not realize someone’s shouting out loud for his attention.

 

Wei Wuxian wouldn’t be called the yelling patriarch during his teenage years for nothing so he tried pushing everyone in his way aside, making sure his path to Lan Wangji is clear while shouting a series of ‘your highness!’ and ‘Crown prince!’ multiple times but sadly the human barricade between them was too strong (blame it on the idiotic guests that has zero idea who and what Consort Wei looks like and tried to block him off) and they were getting further apart. 

 

He wasn’t planning to do this but Wuxian has no choice. He took a deep breath in.

 

“Lan Zhan!!!”

 

 

Hearing this, the group halted in their steps as the leader took a sudden stop. When everyone was too shocked to respond, Wei Wuxian made his way between the bodies and finally made it to Lan Wangji. The crown prince’s eyes were wide and unreadable, a mixture of shock and disbelief written all over his face.

 

Wei Wuxian placed a hand on Lan Wangji’s shoulder. “Well, this won’t take long don’t worry. I’m only here to let you know about the dinner plans th-”

 

“What did you call me? That name, you were referring to me right?”

All of a sudden, Wuxian’s wrist was in the prince’s tight grip as the group had a hard time to understand the weird exchange between a nobody and a noble. 

There were fire in Wangji’s eyes, sadness and anger mixing as one in that troubled glance. Even by staring at the conflicted glare Wuxian could feel the pent up emotion stirring from within. 

_ Why is he so affected by this? _

 

 

Before anything could be answered, Wei Wuxian felt a strong push coming from the sides and he lost balance. It was quick and swift so before he knew it, he lost footing and was falling towards the fish pond while dragging Lan Wangji with him.

_ For pete’s sake, out of every other place to fall, why the water?! _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! glad that i can make an update in February and im just so thankful for all the nice and amazing comments! i just can't thank everyone enough for their support and i honestly felt so grateful to everyone here. anyway, this is like my attempt on making the other half of this story in 3 days so please forgive the mistakes and less plot going on. luv ya all!!


	7. Equivocal Pt.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> short chapter ahead  
> also there aren't many convo here haha

 

 

 

With a loud splash, both Consort Wei and Crown Prince Lan Wangji fell into the relatively cold water of the pond after Wei Ying accidentally dragged the other down with him. The ladies were shrieking in surprise, shouting for guards to help the prince out of the water. The scholars were already crouching by the edge of the pond, trying their best to spot the two fallen people. 

 

Seconds later, Lan Wangji broke out of the calm waters and heaved long needed breaths. He pulled up Wei Wuxian from beneath the water surface and lugged him towards the shallow waters where the surface reaches their waists. Both of them were drenched wet, water seeping into their long hair and multiple-layered clothes that made it harder to move. The prince’s hand was still holding onto Wei Wuxian’s wrist in an iron grip without any signs of letting go.

  
  
  


As soon as they reached the sides, many people were already waiting at the edge to help them out and guards were ready to pull the prince up with the help of nearby scholars. Wei Wuxian can see the disapproving looks and hear the unpleasant chattering about how he had just disgraced the crown prince by making him fall and whatsoever. To be honest, Wuxian doesn’t care about all those rude things said about him. But what he’s curious of right now is who the hell pushed him down? With him losing footing, that certainly isn’t the wind’s fault. He has perfect balance!

  
  
  


Lan Wangji didn’t look like he want to get out of the water before Wei Wuxian does as he stared at Wei Ying with those soulless eyes, angry or disappointed, nobody knew. 

 

Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, was too busy observing the surrounding to notice the prince’s intense stare while glancing around the area with suspicion and fixing the long hair that stubbornly stuck to his face. 

  
  


While busily looking around, Wei Wuxian noticed something relatively out of ordinary in the water. Fishes in the pond would have swum further away when the two men fell into the cold water clearly to avoid threats but there are water bubble coming ever so slowly towards where Wuxian and Lan Wangji were standing, coming straight from the center of the pond. Looking at how big the water ripple is, that is certainly not a fish.

  
  


So he’s having an internal panic. 

It seems that Wei Wuxian was the only one who noticed the abnormal water movement while everybody else were busy fretting over the soaked prince, not caring about anything else at this particular moment. The ripple movement approaches the two males with a terrifying speed now but its direction changed the closer it got and now charging directly to the crown prince.

  
  


Acting on instinct, Wuxian moved as fast as he could with heavy articles of clothing weighing him down into the waters and advanced towards the prince. Warning the guards would of course fall on deaf ears since people really do think he’s gone mad after the ‘accident’ so Wuxian just did what his brain first thought of doing: He pushed Lan Wangji aside.

 

Even with the strong push, Prince Wangji ended up only staggering a few distances away from his original position but Wuxian thinks the safe gap between them two was enough and the prince had finally released his hand due to the shove. Lan Wangji was staring at him dumbfounded but that was the last thing Wei Wuxian saw before he felt something or someone grabbing his right ankle and all too suddenly he was submerged into the dark, cold waters again. 

  
  
  
  
  


There’s a muted shout of ‘Wei Ying!’ as the man himself was being dragged deeper into the depth of the pond, sinking and sinking away from the source of light, from the source of commotion at the surface. 

  
  


Wuxian finally found the needed energy to fight whoever it was who decided to pull him down the water and thrashed around to break free. The water was murky and light was not enough to penetrate the lotus plants covering the surface so it was impossible for him to see his assailant. All-black clothes covered the attacker from head to toe, only revealing the sharp eyes and nose that looks unfamiliar.

  
  


When the two wrestled with much difficulty, pulling each other down to stop one another from taking gasps of air from the surface, kicking and fighting around to land a hit, Wuxian felt a sharp sting on his calf. Without him realizing, the other guy had pulled out a dagger and struck him with the weapon. Not wanting to die without a proper fight, Wei Wuxian clenched his fists and aimed numerous punches that were obviously slowed down underwater.

  
  


_I need air_ , Wuxian thought while holding back the pain that was creeping up to his knee, having a hard time blocking all the other attacks directed to him with half consciousness. And at that moment, Wei Wuxian was sure he’s dying. He lost focus and his sight was blurring at a rapid pace, the numb feeling from his wounded leg crept up all the way to his thighs and he gritted his teeth to suppress the awful sting. 

 

 

Then everything goes silent. Terribly silent.

  
  
  
  
  


_ “... blood pressure is normal but the bleeding is not stopping…” _

 

_ “Inform the ER. We need more than three bags for the patient.” _

 

_ “Blood type?” _

 

_ “Be useful and check his ID!” _

 

_ “The patient just blinked! He's waking up!” _

  
  
  


For a moment, Wei Wuxian thought he heard the sound of machine beeping at the background, also the voices of people that sounded too clear to be underwater but ironically fuzzy at the same time. He closed his eyes and once he re-opened them, he was in a small enclosed space that certainly is not in a pond, not anywhere near a body of water. He was lying down on a bed, unable to move or lift up any of his fingers. All he could do was stare and blink, breath and blink, shake and blink. The throbbing at the back of his head made him feel nauseous and helpless. The bright lights inside the enclosed space sent him seeing black dots behind his eyelids and everything is giving him a migrain.

  
  
  


There are three people peering down on him, directing a small flashlight to his right eye and discussing amongst themselves in hushed tones. Wei Wuxian felt something cold pressing against the back of his palm, something sharp, something like a syringe. Everything in the confined area was white and they were moving, shaking. He heard the sound of siren echoing madly in his head and the loud honking of cars.

 

_ I’m… in an ambulance _ .

_ I’m back ? _

  
  
  


_ “The bleeding has not stopped yet!” _

 

_ “Give him more anaesthetic.” _

 

 

There's a quick sting on his forearm due to getting a shot but as quick as he felt it, suddenly a hard jab on his ribs brought him back from the too-good-to-be-true dream. He blinked and once again found himself still in the water, darkness surrounding him and with zero clue to where the attacker is. Sensing a movement from behind, Wei Wuxian turned around and managed to dodge the dagger just at the right moment before it could pierce through his heart. With the bit of energy left, he kicked the dagger away with precision that he didn’t know he had. The dagger was now sinking slowly to the bottom of the pond and left the attacker with no weapon.

  
  
  


Holding unto the assailant’s hand, Wuxian could feel the hard muscles underneath the cloth and concluded that this person is very well trained, physically. In a last effort to inflict pain to the other party, he dug his nails deep into the assassin’s forearm and dragged his hand across the skin to scratch like a cat. Wei Wuxian was not built for a combat anyway, don’t judge. 

 

To his surprise, Wei Wuxian felt something cold around the wrist of the other person that felt similar to metal, rather small and rectangular in shape. He snatched that from the assailant too in case this might be a clue to the people who would find his dead body later on and prevent the crown prince from getting hurt.

  
  


Wei Wuxian was at his limit. He’s out of air to breath, lungs burning at the lack of oxygen that he needs, energy draining all too fast. To put the cherry on top, there’s someone here who also wants him dead by strangling his neck with one hand. Then he started hallucinating again, hearing the siren of an ambulance that continued to echo at an excruciatingly slow pace, losing his senses altogether. He felt as if he’s floating somewhere in the vast and dark outer space, drifting away from the source of light at the end of the tunnel.

  
  


Suddenly the hand around his neck loosen and somebody had dragged him by the collar to reach the surface. Wei Wuxian forced his eyes to open in the dark and could no longer see the assailant anywhere on the pond bed, not even a shadow. And suddenly he could breathe again, inhaling as much air as possible after reaching the surface of the water. 

  
  


He breathed in so hard that his head feels light and ribs hurting due to excessive movement. His hands were flailing around in panic but another person had their hand placed securely around his shoulders for support.

  
  
  


“Are you alright?!” 

  
  


Wei Wuxian stared at his saviour, speechless. Terrified. But still breathing. He’s alive.

  
  


“Can you see me? Can you recognize me?!” The demanding voice somehow eased the tension building inside Wei Wuxian’s body. He’s safe. He’s alive, he repeated again. Knowing that he’s fine and managed to beat the odds of surviving, he’s at the edge of breaking down and crying his eyes out. All the previous fear and suspense melted away as the person helped him stay afloat, patting his cheeks a few times just to make sure he’s still awake.

  
  


“J-jiang Cheng… I-”

  
  
  


“You’re in good hands, you don’t have to tell me now,” the man replied while breathing equally hard. “Stay awake and make sure you don’t fall asleep alright? Are you hurt?”

  
  


Wei Wuxian nodded while shivering madly, suddenly feeling as if he’s plunged into the freezing winter waters, chill stabbing the cores of his bones. Now he’s terribly sleepy as well, body and mind equally tired from fighting for his life. All he wanted to do at that moment was to faint and sleep for the next two weeks after all the physical and mental trauma he had to go through.

 

Jiang Wanyin took a deep breath before he started swimming back to the edge of the pond, hand securely pulling Wei Wuxian’s exhausted body along with him.

  
  
  


“Consort Jiang!” Wen Ning exclaimed in relief from his position on dry land. He helped the two males out of the water and soon realized the torn cloth of Wei Wuxian’s pants. He understood immediately.

  
  


“Go to Lotus Pavilion and get your medical equipments, warn the imperial physician as well.” Jiang Cheng ordered to Wen Ning who was helping Wei Wuxian to get on the older’s back. As soon as he was done, Wen Ning ran out of the garden and did what he’s told without a single look back. 

 

The people surrounding the area were quietly whispering amongst themselves, creating gossips that will soon spread around the palace in no time, not knowing that someone had just tried to assassinate the crown prince. Lan Wangji himself was standing nearby, still dripping wet from head to toe, looking stupefied at the sudden course of events. He was too shocked to say or do anything other than to stare blankly at his brother-in-law.

  
  


Jiang Cheng had already stood up, carrying Wei Wuxian on his back and didn’t look as if he had swam to the middle of the pond and back.

 

He gave the crown prince a cold glare, “we’re here to let you know about the dinner plans that Consort Mother had prepared tonight. Please spare a little of your time to attend, it would make her feel better. That was what Consort Wei was trying to say before. We will now take our leave, have a pleasant day.”

  
  


It was unsaid but Lan Wangji knew the meaning behind those piercing glance.    
  


 

_ Why didn’t you save him? _

  
  
  


That was the same question that he asked himself countless of times as he struggled against the guards who were holding him back, seeing Jiang Wanyin jump into the water fearlessly in his place. Why wasn’t he the one who’s saving Wei Ying?

Wei Wuxian did not utter a single word during the exchange, did not try to see others around him, he doesn’t seem alive even. All he knew was to cling unto Jiang Cheng’s shoulders desperately, as if his life was hanging on a thin line and Jiang Cheng was his only hope. The drowsiness was back and it took him all his might not to succumb to slumber. 

The images of being dragged into the dark and seemingly bottomless waters still horrified him.

  
  


Sensing that Wei Wuxian was shivering and shaking, Jiang Cheng gave a polite bow to the crown prince and jogged off towards the direction of his own pavilion. Lan Wangji could only stare at the two retreating figures with a heart beating irrationally fast and a head pounding nastily.  

  
  


\--------------

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Good evening, mother.” 

 

Lan Wangji greeted his mother by the door of the dining room of the Sunflower Pavilion. He was dressed in a light grey and pale blue robes, contrasting against the bright colored decorations of Imperial Consort Wen’s quarters. The sun has set and finally the crown prince has gathered his senses to attend the gathering.

 

Wen Qing, dressed in bright green dress, was seated on one of the stool and welcomed her second son with a forced smile, offering other empty stools around the wooden table. Aside from the Imperial Consort herself, only Prince Xichen was there.

  
  


“Brother,” Wangji greeted while his elder brother returned the polite salutation with a warm smile, asking the younger to take a seat next to him.

  
  


The three of them sat in silence, neither wants to start the conversation. Four stools are empty. All dishes were presented on the table. 

  
  


“The emperor is ill.” Lady Wen said coolly, picking up her chopsticks to start eating. Seems like they’re not waiting for any other guests to join them tonight.  

  
  


That explained the first empty stool.

  
  


“Yanli is getting as much rest as possible. Her body is weak so it’ll be better for her and the baby to rest.” The owner of the second empty stool was Jiang Yanli.

  
  


“Wei Ying almost died.” She added heartlessly, as if it wasn’t such a huge issue, while placing a piece of roasted duck to her bowl. “He needed the rest.”

  
  
  


Lan Wangji felt his headache coming back with full power. The third empty seat was for Wei Ying.

  
  


“Jiang Cheng is unwell. He had not recovered completely in the first place and since he jumped into the water, his condition worsened.”

  
  


This time Lan Xichen twitched in his seat, sensing the sharp accusation although unsaid was   directed to him.

  
  


Lady Wen might have seen to be caring and incredibly virtuous to outsiders however only the people close to her know what she’s like in reality, how she no longer care for how her words are structured or delivered behind closed doors. The two brothers fully know how sharp her tongue could be, but also understand how true and brutally honest her words are.

  
  


“I heard Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning’s side of the story. I will ask Wei Ying’s story as soon as he regained consciousness.”

  
  


Hearing his mother’s words, Lan Wangji immediately looked up from his empty plate and snapped his head to face Lady Wen. 

“Wei Y-”

  
  


“Hurt? Yes, gaining another fresh gash along his left foot. Poisoned? Also yes, the weapon used to harm him was smeared with toxic substances. He became unconscious due to fatigue and the poison. Thankfully the toxin was extracted early so Wei Ying’s life is not harmed although we don’t know if it’ll cause him pain in the future.”

 

While explaining, Lady Wen spared her youngest son a cold stare, one similar to Jiang Cheng’s own. She did not say anything rude, did not impose or try to blame anything on Lan Wangji but the prince can feel the heavy weight behind her words and stare. 

 

_ You were there. You could have done something. _

  
  


“And Jingyi came to me crying earlier,” Lady Wen sighed. “The young boy begged me to save his father. He’d do anything I say, he cried. The young child would not stop crying before Jiang Cheng came to get him.”

 

Lan Xichen remained silent.

  
  


“Did you even know that Jiang Cheng fainted after rescuing Wei Ying? That your son thought his father died?”

  
  


The two brothers remained silent under the scrutinizing stare of their mother, unable to form any plausible reasoning to appease her anger, to explain themselves because they knew that nothing can salvage the situation. Wen Qing adored Wei Wuxian ever since the boy was at a very tender age and Jiang Wanyin had proved his worth after all this time taking care of Prince Jingyi so having two of her son-in-laws hurt was a slow torment for her.

  
  


“Eat.” She ordered calmly. “We'll talk again after dinner's done. Make sure nothing like this ever happen again.”

  
  
  


“Yes mother,” both brothers chorused like the filial and obedient princes they are.

  
  
  


The dinner passed by with silence enveloping the mother-son trio, tense atmosphere complemented the family reunion. Lan Wangji could only swallow down the words he wanted to say during the occasion, to inform that he had regained his memories back, to confront his father and everyone about lying to him. But he held back. He’ll hold back for now, for Wei Ying’s sake.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg its been awhile! thank you so much for reading this very short update that i have conjured up at 1 am and i apologize for any grammatical or any mistak ein general!! im so glad that you guys are reading this hahahahaha anyway im also sorry for the short chap i'll try to update anotehr one this month! thank you so much for all the love this story received, all the kudos, comments are really awesome thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> :) im new in the fandom so please take good care of me!! >~<


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